Quantum Dots as Multifunctional Materials for Tumor Imaging and Therapy

Longfei Liu; Qingqing Miao; Gaolin Liang

doi:10.3390/ma6020483

Quantum Dots as Multifunctional Materials for Tumor Imaging and Therapy

Materials (Basel). 2013 Feb 5;6(2):483-499. doi: 10.3390/ma6020483.

Authors

Longfei Liu¹, Qingqing Miao², Gaolin Liang³

Affiliations

¹ CAS Key Laboratory of Soft Matter Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China, 96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China. llftt2@mail.ustc.edu.cn.
² CAS Key Laboratory of Soft Matter Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China, 96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China. qqmiao@mail.ustc.edu.cn.
³ CAS Key Laboratory of Soft Matter Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China, 96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China. gliang@ustc.edu.cn.

Abstract

The rapidly developing field of quantum dots (QDs) provides researchers with more options for imaging modalities and therapeutic strategies. In recent years, QDs were widely used as multifunctional materials for tumor imaging and therapy due to their characteristic properties such as semiconductive, zero-dimension and strong fluorescence. Nevertheless, there still exist the challenges of employing these properties of QDs for clinical diagnosis and therapy. Herein, we briefly review the development, properties and applications of QDs in tumor imaging and therapy. Future perspectives in these areas are also proposed as well.

Keywords: fluorescence; probe; quantum dots; semiconductor; tumor imaging and therapy.

Publication types

Review