Dr Lyudmila Turyanska from our neighbouring School of Chemistry will give a seminar this Wednesday the 24th of February, at 3 pm (room JBL3C01 in the Joseph Banks Laboratories, building no 22 on the university map). Please join us in attending this interesting talk on colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals and their applications.

Colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals:  from device applications to medical imaging

Colloidal synthesis offers a flexible route to produce nanomaterials with properties tailored for specific applications. The optical properties of semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum dots, QDs) can be tuned by their size and composition in the wide range of electromagnetic spectrum from the visible to the near-infrared. Additional functionalities can be achieved by QD doping and surface modifications. We study the fundamental properties of colloidal quantum dots [1] and develop them for applications in nanoscale electronics, e.g. in hybrid graphene-based devices [2], and for dual MRI and near-infrared fluorescence medical imaging and therapy [3].

a) Room temperature photoluminescence of colloidal PbS quantum dots and (Inset) a typical HR TEM image on the nanocrystal. b) Dependence of room temperature photoresponsivity on illumination power incident on a 60 µm2 graphene layer. (Lower inset) Schematic diagram of the device and (Top inset) I(Vg) characteristics before (dashed lines) and following the decoration with QDs in the dark (black lines)and under illumination (red lines). c) In vitro cytotoxicity profile for human derived breast cancer cells following 72h treatment with QDs and (Inset) in vivo image of QDs.

[1] Nanoscale 6, 8919 (2014); Scientific Reports 5, 10855 (2015).
[2] Adv. Electron. Mater. 1, 1500062 (2015).
[3] J. Mater. Chem. B 1, 6254-6260 (2013); Adv. Healthc. Mater. 4, 18, 2816 (2015).