Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 9, 2026

Compact Quantum Dots for Single-molecule Imaging
Published on: October 9, 2012
Imaging dynamic cellular events with quantum dots The bright future
Andrew M Smith1, Mary M Wen, Shuming Nie
1Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology.
Abstract:
Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are tiny light-emitting particles that have emerged as a new class of fluorescent labels for biology and medicine. Compared with traditional fluorescent probes, QDs have unique optical and electronic properties such as size-tuneable light emission, narrow and symmetric emission spectra, and broad absorption spectra that enable the simultaneous excitation of multiple fluorescence colours.
Related Concept Videos
Three-Dimensional Microscopy in Microbiology
Two-Dimensional Microscopy in Microbiology
Super-resolution Fluorescence Microscopy
Protein Dynamics in Living Cells
Fluorescent recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a fluorescent-protein-based detection technique used to quantify protein movement rates within the cell. This method exposes a small portion of the cell to an intense laser beam. The laser beam causes permanent photobleaching of the fluorophore-tagged proteins in the exposed region. As the bleached...

