Nanoscience or nanotechnology is a very fast-growing field of science, which has introduced various new transforming technology in the present era. One such technology is fluorescent quantum dots (QDs), which have been a part of nanotechnology since the very beginning of the field. Fluorescent quantum dots are very small nanocrystals, defines by a diameter of about 2-10 nanometers i.e. around 10-50 atoms. The most unique property of quantum dots is the resultant fluorescence of distinctive colors produced, which is highly dependent on the size of the nanocrystal.
Quantum dots are known to be consisting of a variety of structural, photochemical, and electrochemical properties also, which can be exploited to use them as a very promising technology in the field of sensing applications. The use of quantum dots as a nanomaterial in these sensing applications can increase the performance of biosensors in the market, specifically in terms of overcoming the existing issues such as detection limit, selectivity, and sensor sensitivity. The applications of quantum dots is not only limited to this, instead, it also expands to their high-level functionalization with bioreceptors. In this review article, the authors highlight how fluorescent quantum dots function and their core knowledge along with a detailed explanation of their applications in sensors to receptors.
The potential of quantum dots is immense, one of the reason is their enhanced capability to associate nanotechnology and biotechnology together. They indeed possess a huge potential to set a new paradigm in the research field to give a comprehensive view of zero-dimensional nanoparticles. These nanoparticles can be effectively used in the designing of electrochemical sensors which can be used in the diagnosis of diseases. This can specifically include identifying biomolecules such as tumor markers, depression markers, inflammatory markers, and more. Considering the huge application of quantum dots, the researcher highlights more in-depth research in the field. Detailed insight about quantum dots can help in understanding their electronic and magnetic properties in more detail. One can understand how they can be synthesized in labs efficiently for further large scale production to be used effectively at the industrial scale for biomolecule diagnosis and other related applications.
