Improving Quantum Dot Synthesis Materials researchers at the
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have
developed a simplified, low-cost process for producing high-
quality, water-soluble quantum dots for biomedical applications.
By using a laboratory microwave reactor to promote the synthesis
of the widely used nanomaterials, the recently published NIST
process avoids a problematic step in the conventional approach
to making quantum dots, resulting in brighter, more stable dots.
Quantum dots are specially engineered nanoscale crystals of
semiconductor compounds. The name comes from the fact that their
infinitesimal size enables a quantum electronics effect that
causes the crystals to fluoresce brilliantly at specific,
sharply defined colors. Bright, stable, tiny, and tunable across
a broad spectrum of colors, quantum dots that are engineered to
attach themselves to particular proteins have become a popular
research tool in areas such as cancer research for detecting,
labeling, and tracking spe