title: Nanobiotechnology: quantum dots in bioimaging.
abstract: Many biological systems, including protein complexes, are natural nanostructures. To better understand these structures and to monitor them in real time, it is becoming increasingly important to develop nanometer-scale signaling markers. Single-molecule methods will play a major role in elucidating the role of all proteins and their mutual interactions in a given organism. Fluorescent semiconductor nanocrystals, known as quantum dots, have several advantages of optical and chemical features over the traditional fluorescent labels. These features make them desirable for long-term stability and simultaneous detection of multiple signals. Here, we review current approaches to developing a biological application for quantum dots.
authors: Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokushima, Shomachi, Tokushima, Japan. yl7173@gmail.com
authors: Yong
authors: Y
authors: Zhang
authors: Noritada
authors: N
authors: Kaji
authors: Manabu
authors: M
authors: Tokeshi
authors: Yoshinobu
authors: Y
authors: Baba
mesh_terms: D001709:Biotechnology; D005453:Fluorescence; D036103:Nanotechnology; D045663:Quantum Dots