Issue 43, 2023

Facile microfluidic synthesis of monodispersed size-controllable quantum dot (QD) microbeads using custom developed QD photoresist

Abstract

Fluorescent microbeads (MBs) are widely used as next-generation biosensors for the detection of target chemicals at highly sensitive concentrations, and for imaging and tracking in vitro and in vivo. However, most known methods for producing fluorescent MBs require complicated multistep processes that result in low production rates. In this study, we report a method for fabricating micrometer-sized quantum dot microbeads (QD-MBs) using a microfluidic chip and specially designed QD photoresist (QD-PR). This on-demand lab-on-a-chip method yielded monodispersed QD-MBs ranging from 1.89 to 33 μm with a coefficient of variation of less than 10%. The size distribution of the fabricated QD-MBs was Gaussian with a peak around the mean diameter and a spread of sizes around the peak. Compared with nanoscale QDs, the fabricated QD-MBs showed no emission loss. The full-width at half-maximum of the emission peak of the QD-MBs was smaller than that of the colloidal QDs, indicating a more uniform distribution and a higher density of QDs within the MB structure. In addition, we investigated the microfluidic flow regime that yielded the most uniform and controllable QD-MB. The MBs in the dripping regime were spherical and monodisperse, with an excellent particle size distribution. In this study, we present a simple and effective strategy for producing QD-MBs with controllable sizes, which can be crucial in diverse fields such as biosensing, drug delivery, and imaging.

Graphical abstract: Facile microfluidic synthesis of monodispersed size-controllable quantum dot (QD) microbeads using custom developed QD photoresist

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
20 iyl 2023
Accepted
16 okt 2023
First published
17 okt 2023

Nanoscale, 2023,15, 17473-17481

Facile microfluidic synthesis of monodispersed size-controllable quantum dot (QD) microbeads using custom developed QD photoresist

B. Kim, S. Kumar, B. Chon, H. Son, S. O. Kang and S. Seo, Nanoscale, 2023, 15, 17473 DOI: 10.1039/D3NR03544A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements