Browsing by Author "Mtotywa, Alungile"

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    Quantum dots for multiplexed biological imaging
    (University of the Western Cape, 2023) Mtotywa, Alungile; Onani, M.O
    Over the past two decades, indium phosphide (InP) colloidal quantum dots (QDs) have attracted substantial interest as a possibly less hazardous alternative to cadmium-based QDs. The improvements in their colloidal synthesis techniques have made it possible to synthesize a wide range of compositions, and ligands with perfect quantum yields close to unity, spectrum tunability from blue to near-infrared, and narrow emission linewidths. Additionally, InP QDs have better optical stability than cadmium chalcogenides due to their higher covalency. Modern InP QDs have demonstrated superior performance in a wide range of applications, including solar cells with strong commercial potential, luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs), and light-emitting diodes. The use of non-cadmium-based quantum dots (QDs) as highly effective, non-toxic optical probes for bioimaging is discussed in this study. Core/ shell InP/ZnS and InP/ZnSe QDs were synthesized using tris (dialkylamino) phosphines via one-pot synthesis. Water compatibility was achieved through ligand exchange with 3- mercaptopropionic acid. Chitosan was further added to make the QDs more stable and less toxic. All the synthesized QDs were characterized with UV-Vis, PL, FTIR, and HRTEM.