title: Biosensing with quantum dots: a microfluidic approach.
abstract: Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have served as the basis for signal development in a variety of biosensing technologies and in applications using bioprobes. The use of QDs as physical platforms to develop biosensors and bioprobes has attracted considerable interest. This is largely due to the unique optical properties of QDs that make them excellent choices as donors in fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) and well suited for optical multiplexing. The large majority of QD-based bioprobe and biosensing technologies that have been described operate in bulk solution environments, where selective binding events at the surface of QDs are often associated with relatively long periods to reach a steady-state signal. An alternative approach to the design of biosensor architectures may be provided by a microfluidic system (MFS). A MFS is able to integrate chemical and biological processes into a single platform and allows for manipulation of flow conditions to achieve, by sample transport and mixing, reaction rates that are not entirely diffusion controlled. Integrating assays in a MFS provides numerous additional advantages, which include the use of very small amounts of reagents and samples, possible sample processing before detection, ultra-high sensitivity, high throughput, short analysis time, and in situ monitoring. Herein, a comprehensive review is provided that addresses the key concepts and applications of QD-based microfluidic biosensors with an added emphasis on how this combination of technologies provides for innovations in bioassay designs. Examples from the literature are used to highlight the many advantages of biosensing in a MFS and illustrate the versatility that such a platform offers in the design strategy.
authors.affiliation: Chemical Sensors Group, Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Rd. North, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada. vannoy@utoronto.ca
authors.forename: Charles H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Vannoy
authors.forename: Anthony J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Tavares
authors.forename: M Omair
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Noor
authors.forename: Uvaraj
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Uddayasankar
authors.forename: Ulrich J
authors.initials: UJ
authors.lastname: Krull
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D002477:Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D031541:Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer; D006801:Humans; D044085:Microfluidics / Q000379:methods*; D045663:Quantum Dots