Synthesis of highly luminescent colloidal particles

• US 8,092,859 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2009
• Issued: 01/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Life Technologies Corporation (Thermo Fisher Scientific Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Life Technologies Corporation (Thermo Fisher Scientific Incorporated)
• Inventors: Naasani, Imad
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Hoa (Holly)
• Application Number:
  US12/563,900
• Publication Number:
  US 20100075437A1
• Time in Patent Office: 841 Days
• Field of Search: 428/403, 427/201, 427/203, 427/205, 427/215, 427/220
• US Class Current: 427/201
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 15/00 Nanotechnology for interacting, sensing or actuating, e.g. quantum dots as markers in protein assays or molecular motors
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 30/00 Nanotechnology for materials or surface science, e.g. nanocomposites
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 5/00 Nanobiotechnology or nanomedicine, e.g. protein engineering or drug delivery
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 11/02 Use of particular materials as binders, particle coatings or suspension media therefor
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 11/565 with zinc cadmium
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 11/883 with zinc or cadmium
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 29/605 Products containing multiple oriented crystallites, e.g. columnar crystallites
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 7/005 Epitaxial layer growth
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/588 with semiconductor nanocrystal label, e.g. quantum dots
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 977/882 Assembling of separate components, e.g. by attaching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 977/896 Chemical synthesis, e.g. chemical bonding or breaking
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/2991 Coated

Abstract

The present invention includes compositions and methods for their used wherein the compositions include clusters of coated fluorescent nanocrystals having a select size formed by controlled aggregation of individual coated nanocrystals.

Claims

1. A method of preparing a nanocrystal aggregate, comprising:

contacting two or more nanocrystals in a solvent, the nanocrystals comprising a coating layer comprising at least one imidazole group;

contacting the nanocrystals to prepare an aggregate of coated nanocrystals;

controlling the aggregate size by modifying the solvent; and

cross-linking the aggregate.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the nanocrystals interact through their coating layers.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the contacting step further comprises placing the two or more nanocrystals in a solvent mixture.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising adjusting the concentration of solvents in the solvent mixture.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the size of the aggregate is about 50-80 nm.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the aggregate comprises about 2 to about 20 coated nanocrystals.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the coating layer comprises a compound selected from histidine, carnosine, glycyl histidine, polyhistidine, polyimidazole, 1,1′

-carbonyldiimidazole and 4-imidazoleacrylic acid.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the coating layer comprises a compound selected from thiazole, oxazole, pyrrole, thiophene, furan, pyridine, pyrimidine, pyrazine, triazine, triazole, thiophene, phthalocyanine, porphyrin and derivatives thereof.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the two or more nanocrystals are semiconductor nanocrystals.

10. A method of preparing a nanocrystal aggregate, comprising:

contacting two or more nanocrystals in a solvent, the nanocrystals comprising a coating layer comprising at least one imidazole group;

contacting the nanocrystals to prepare an aggregate of coated nanocrystals;

controlling the aggregate size by modifying the solvent; and

cross-linking the aggregate, wherein the contacting step further comprises placing the two or more nanocrystals in an aqueous solvent mixture, wherein the aqueous solvent mixture further comprises ethanol.