Fluorescent nanoparticles (FNPs) have been widely used in chemistry and medicine for decades, but their employment in biology is relatively recent. Past reviews on FNPs have focused on chemical, physical or medical uses, making the extrapolation to biological applications difficult. In biology, FNPs have largely been used for biosensing and molecular tracking. However, concerns over toxicity in early types of FNPs, such as cadmium-containing quantum dots (QDs), may have prevented wide adoption. Recent developments, especially in non-Cd-containing FNPs, have alleviated toxicity problems, facilitating the use of FNPs for addressing ecological, physiological and molecule-level processes in biological research. Standardised protocols from synthesis to application and interdisciplinary approaches are critical for establishing FNPs in the biologists’ tool kit. Here, we present an introduction to FNPs, summarise their use in biological applications, and discuss technical issues such as data reliability and biocompatibility. We assess whether biological research can benefit from FNPs and suggest ways in which FNPs can be applied to answer questions in biology. We conclude that FNPs have a great potential for studying various biological processes, especially tracking, sensing and imaging in physiology and ecology.

中文翻译：

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荧光纳米粒子作为生态学和生理学的工具

几十年来，荧光纳米粒子 (FNP) 已广泛用于化学和医学，但它们在生物学中的应用相对较新。过去对 FNP 的评论集中在化学、物理或医学用途上，这使得外推到生物学应用变得困难。在生物学中，FNPs 主要用于生物传感和分子追踪。然而，对早期类型 FNP（如含镉量子点 (QD)）毒性的担忧可能阻止了广泛采用。最近的发展，特别是不含 Cd 的 FNPs，减轻了毒性问题，促进了 FNPs 在生物研究中解决生态、生理和分子水平过程的使用。从合成到应用和跨学科方法的标准化协议对于在生物学家工具包中建立 FNP 至关重要。在这里，我们介绍了 FNP，总结了它们在生物应用中的用途，并讨论了数据可靠性和生物相容性等技术问题。我们评估生物学研究是否可以从 FNP 中受益，并建议可以应用 FNP 来回答生物学问题的方法。我们得出结论，FNPs 在研究各种生物过程，特别是生理学和生态学中的跟踪、传感和成像方面具有巨大的潜力。我们评估生物学研究是否可以从 FNP 中受益，并建议可以应用 FNP 来回答生物学问题的方法。我们得出结论，FNPs 在研究各种生物过程，特别是生理学和生态学中的跟踪、传感和成像方面具有巨大的潜力。我们评估生物学研究是否可以从 FNP 中受益，并建议可以应用 FNP 来回答生物学问题的方法。我们得出结论，FNPs 在研究各种生物过程，特别是生理学和生态学中的跟踪、传感和成像方面具有巨大的潜力。