Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Chemistry)

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Browsing by Author "Ayabei, Kiplagat"

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    Fabrication of luminescent nanocomposites for diagnosis of breast cancer
    (University of the Western Cape, 2016) Ayabei, Kiplagat; Onani, Martin
    In this study we were able to synthesize separately iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles, InP/ZnSe and CdTe/ZnS quantum dots. The iron oxide nanoparticles were coupled with InP/ZnSe QDs to form the luminescent magnetic nanocomposite. The magnetic nanoparticles of the type iron oxide (?-Fe2O3) were synthesized using co-precipitation method owing to its advantages. The fluorescing material InP/ZnSe quantum dots were synthesized using hot injection technique. Meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid, 3-mercaptopropionic acid, and L-cysteine were used to functionalize the iron oxide nanoparticles. The synthesized InP/ZnSe quantum dots were made water soluble by carrying out ligand exchange processes. The synthesized magnetic nanoparticles were characterized using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). The quantum dots were characterized using photoluminescence Nanolog (PL), HRTEM, XRD, and FTIR. The fluorescent nanocomposite (?-Fe2O3-InP/ZnSe) was characterized using PL, SQUID, and HRTEM.