For CO 2 sensing studies, chips with multiple NTFET devices were wire bonded and packaged in a 40-pin CERDIP package before functionalization with PEI/starch polymers. The polymer functionalized packaged devices were assembled in a flow cell in which air or CO 2 gas mixtures could be introduced to the devices. The low concentrations of CO 2 were achieved by mixing different proportions of air and 10 % CO 2 in air with a CSSI 1010 precision gas diluter (Custom Sensor Solutions, Inc., Naperville, IL). [8] For some recent examples of solubilization of SWNTs with polymers, see: a) Received

Self-assembled microtubes of mixed charge-transfer (CT) complexes comprising TCNB and naphthalene can be constructed with pyrene as dopant by an etching-assisted CT-induced interaction. Highly efficient Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) from the excited naphthalene-TCNB to pyrene-TCNB molecules is obtained in mixed CT complex microtubes. White-light emissive CT complex microtubes can be formed by adjusting the dopant concentration and serve as an active optical waveguide.

Fluorescent silicon quantum dots (SiQDs) are facilely prepared via one-pot microwave-assisted synthesis. The as-prepared SiQDs feature excellent aqueous dispersibility, robust photo- and pH-stability, strong fluorescence, and favorable biocompatibility. Experiments show the SiQDs are superbly suitable for long-term immunofluorescent cellular imaging. Our results provide a new and invaluable methodology for large-scale synthesis of high-quality SiQDs, which are promising for various optoelectronic and biological applications.

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In this work, a bottom-up strategy is developed to synthesize water-soluble molybdenum disulfide quantum dots (MoS2 QDs) through a simple, one-step hydrothermal method using ammonium tetrathiomolybdate [(NH4)2MoS4] as the precursor and hydrazine hydrate as the reducing agent. The as-synthesized MoS2 QDs are few-layered with a narrow size distribution, and the average diameter is about 2.8 nm. The resultant QDs show excitation-dependent blue fluorescence due to the polydispersity of the QDs. Moreover, the fluorescence can be quenched by hyaluronic acid (HA)-functionalized gold nanoparticles through a photoinduced electron-transfer mechanism. Hyaluronidase (HAase), an endoglucosidase, can cleave HA into proangiogenic fragments and lead to the aggregation of gold nanoparticles. As a result, the electron transfer is blocked and fluorescence is recovered. On the basis of this principle, a novel fluorescence sensor for HAase is developed with a linear range from 1 to 50 U/mL and a detection limit of 0.7 U/mL.

Colloidal silicon quantum dots (Si QDs) hold ever-growing promise for the development of novel optoelectronic devices such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Although it has been proposed that ligands at the surface of colloidal Si QDs may significantly impact the performance of LEDs based on colloidal Si QDs, little systematic work has been carried out to compare the performance of LEDs that are fabricated using colloidal Si QDs with different ligands. Here, colloidal Si QDs with rather short octyl ligands (Octyl-Si QDs) and phenylpropyl ligands (PhPr-Si QDs) are employed for the fabrication of LEDs. It is found that the optical power density of PhPr-Si QD LEDs is larger than that of Octyl-Si QD LEDs. This is due to the fact that the surface of PhPr-Si QDs is more oxidized and less defective than that of Octyl-Si QDs. Moreover, the benzene rings of phenylpropyl ligands significantly enhance the electron transport of QD LEDs. It is interesting that the external quantum efficiency (EQE) of PhPr-Si QD LEDs is lower than that of Octyl-Si QD LEDs because the benzene rings of phenylpropyl ligands suppress the hole transport of QD LEDs. The unbalance between the electron and hole injection in PhPr-Si QD LEDs is more serious than that in Octyl-Si QD LEDs. The currently obtained highest optical power density of ∼0.64 mW/cm from PhPr-Si QD LEDs and highest EQE of ∼6.2% from Octyl-Si QD LEDs should encourage efforts to further advance the development of high-performance optoelectronic devices based on colloidal Si QDs.

The development of multimodal nanoprobes is highly desired in medical imaging because it integrates the advantages of multiple imaging modes. In this study, the gadolinium-doped green luminescent carbon dots (Gd-CDs) were prepared by the simple one-step microwave-assisted polyol method. The obtained Gd-CDs emitted a unique green photoluminescence with a quantum yield of 5.4%. The Gd-CDs exhibited a low cytotoxicity and could optically label the C6 glioma cells. Meanwhile, the r1 relaxivity of Gd-CDs was measured to be 11.356 mM(-1) s(-1). This high r1 value together with the r2/r1 ratio close to 1 nominates Gd-CDs as an excellent T1 contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging. These Gd-CDs combining two complementary imaging modalities are therefore a promising bimodal nanoprobe in medical imaging for a better diagnosis.

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