An alternative to quantum dots

摘要

US scientists have developed an in vivo imaging method that offers a potentially safer and more stable alternative to current methods.rnScott Hilderbrand and co-workers from the Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, have investigated the luminescent properties of yttrium-based nanomaterials and have used the materials to obtain images of blood vessels in mice.rnThe method relies on a process called upconversion, in which particles absorb light of one wavelength and emit light of a shorter wavelength. As Hilderbrand explains, this recent approach to imaging has many advantages over existing methods, such as the use of quantum dots.