Fluorescent semiconductor nanoparticles, or quantum dots, have become a promising platform for the engineering of biofunctional probes for a variety of biomedical applications, ranging from multicolor imaging to single-molecule tracking to traceable drug delivery. Advances in organometallic synthesis have enabled preparation of hydrophobic quantum dots with high quantum yields and narrow size distribution, offering bright optical materials with narrow size-tunable emission profiles. At the same time, polymer encapsulation procedures provided a simple and versatile methodology for transferring hydrophobic nanoparticles into physiologically-relevant aqueous buffers. Taken together, hydrophobic nanoparticle platforms and polymer encapsulation should offer great flexibility for implementation of novel probe designs. However, the success of the encapsulation and purification depends on many factors often overlooked in the scientific literature, such as close match between nanoparticle and polymer physicochemical properties and dimensions, slow dynamics of polymer arrangement on the nanoparticle surface, and the size and charge similarity of resultant polymer-coated quantum dots and empty byproduct polymer micelles. To make this general hydrophobic nanoparticle modification strategy accessible by a broad range of biomedical research groups, we focus on the important technical aspects of nanoparticle polymer encapsulation, purification, bioconjugation, and characterization.

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解决生物测定用量子点探针制备的关键技术问题


荧光半导体纳米颗粒或量子点已成为用于各种生物医学应用的生物功能探针工程的有前景的平台，从多色成像到单分子跟踪再到可追溯的药物输送。有机金属合成的进步使得能够制备具有高量子产率和窄尺寸分布的疏水性量子点，从而提供具有窄尺寸可调发射轮廓的明亮光学材料。同时，聚合物封装程序提供了一种简单且通用的方法，用于将疏水性纳米颗粒转移到生理相关的水性缓冲液中。总而言之，疏水性纳米颗粒平台和聚合物封装应该为新型探针设计的实施提供极大的灵活性。然而，封装和纯化的成功取决于许多在科学文献中经常被忽视的因素，例如纳米颗粒和聚合物物理化学性质和尺寸之间的紧密匹配、纳米颗粒表面聚合物排列的缓慢动态以及纳米颗粒的尺寸和电荷相似性。所得的聚合物涂覆的量子点和空的副产物聚合物胶束。为了使广泛的生物医学研究小组能够使用这种通用的疏水性纳米颗粒修饰策略，我们重点关注纳米颗粒聚合物封装、纯化、生物共轭和表征的重要技术方面。