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Nanocrystals For Simpler, Less Expensive Single-Wavelength Color-Tuning in Imaging and Other Biomedical Applications

IP Title

Excitation-Intensity-Dependant, Color-Tunable, Dual Emitting Nanocrystals

Detailed Technology Description

None

Supplementary Information

Inventor: Cao, Y. Charles | Chen, Ou | Shelby, Daniel Edward | Yang, Yongan | Zhuang, Jiaqi | Omenetto, Nicolo
Priority Number: US8410455B2
IPC Current: G01N002164
US Class: 2504591
Assignee Applicant: University of Florida Research Foundation Inc.inesville
Title: Excitation-intensity-dependent, color-tunable, dual emitting nanocrystals
Usefulness: Excitation-intensity-dependent, color-tunable, dual emitting nanocrystals
Summary: Photo-stimulated color emission device for use as a visual display, biological tags for medical diagnostics, and smart tags to surfaces for identification on currency, in vivo biological imaging field.
Novelty: Photo-stimulated color emission device for use as e.g. biological tags for medical diagnostics, has doped semiconducting nanoparticles emitting electromagnetic radiation at wavelengths based on intensity of irradiation

Industry

Electronics

Sub Category

Semiconductor

Application Date

Apr 7, 2010

Application No.

8,410,455

Others

*Abstract

Invention

These manganese(Mn)-doped semiconductor nanocrystals support smart tagging and the magnetic labeling of cells, DNA, and proteins. Because of their luminescent properties, nanocrystals’ excitons make good contrast agents, which improve the visibility of internal body structures in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other medical imaging procedures. Conventional nanocrystals require a range of wavelengths to operate properly. This can be more difficult as it requires precision and consistency, making them fairly expensive to manufacture. Additionally, such nanocrystals generally have fixed optical properties that limit their potential applications.

Researchers at the University of Florida have developed Mn-doped nanocrystals that allow color tuning under a single wavelength and regulate based on intensity. Regulation according to intensity rather than wavelength makes the product cheaper to manufacture and simpler to use. In an MRI setting, the varying intensities of the nanocrystals would make different body structures become visible respective to the irradiation intensity used. Furthermore, the optical properties of these Mn-doped nanocrystals support rapid switching of their optical emission between multiple colors, broadening the range of imaging applications.

Application

Manganese-doped nanocrystals for accurate, single-wavelength biomedical diagnosis, medical imaging, and surface smart tag identification

Advantages

• Allows color-tuning under single-wavelength excitation, providing a simple and cost-efficient intensity varied system for biomedical imaging, diagnosis, and smart tagging applications
• Supports surface moiety functionalization, optimizing the nanoparticles’ photoluminescent properties to medical imaging applications
• Facilitates efficient manipulation of nanocrystals’ optical emission, enabling switching between multiple colors for more versatile imaging applications

Technology

These manganese(Mn)-doped semiconductor nanocrystals improve applications in biomedical imaging and surface identification. The quantum-confined excitons of the nanocrystals react to a large effective magnetic field of up to 400 Tesla, exhibiting spin-polarizable excitonic photoluminescence. The Mn dopants can also serve as radial pressure gauges to measure the lattice strains in the nanocrystals. A plurally doped-semiconductor nanoparticle can exhibit excitation-intensity-dependent dual or multiple emissions. Using an illumination source that can provide a controlled intensity of illumination, a single plurally doped-semiconductor nanoparticle can emit multiple colors depending on the intensity of the illuminating source. Hence, a color-tunable device is possible where the device comprises at least one plurally doped nanocrystal. The nanoparticles can include functional surface moieties to facilitate their attachment to a surface, dispersion in a fluid, or dispersion as filler in a solid composite structure. They can also incorporate dyes to optimize, augment, or modify the photoluminescent properties of the nanoparticles, as long as these modifications do not inhibit the access of the illumination source.

*IP Issue Date

Apr 2, 2013

*IP Publication Date

Oct 21, 2010

*Principal Investigator

Name: Yunwei Cao

Department:

Name: Daniel Shelby

Department:

Name: Jiaqi Zhuang

Department:

Name: Nicolo Omenetto

Department:

Name: Ou Chen

Department:

Name: Yongan Yang

Department:

Country/Region

USA