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 7 2023
Accepted
16 10 2023
First published
17 10 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

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