Quantum dots: synthesis, functionalization and bioconjugation for biological applications

Dissertation presented to obtain the Ph.D degree in Engineering Sciences and Technology

The main goal of this Doctoral work was to develop a fluorescent biomarker to identify antigenic proteins associated with specific parasites. Although it is known that fluorescent techniques making use of standard organic dyes are widely used for this purpose, the development of a new method was proposed using nanotechnology; in particular the use of nano optical reporters also called quantum dots (QDs). In order to achieve this goal, the research work was divided into four main tasks: (1) synthesis and characterization of CdSe/ZnS core-shell QDs; (2) design of dihydrolipoic acid (DHLA) ligands appended to oligo and poly (ethylene) glycols (PEG) with different functional groups to generate biocompatible QDs; (3) bioconjugation of QDs to monoclonal antibodies based on sophisticated protocols and (4) some chemical and biological applications of the synthesized non-conjugated and conjugated nanoparticles.(...)

This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) through a PhD grant to Ana Sofia Miguel (SFRH/BD/40303/2007) and the grant # PEst-OE/EQB/LA0004/2011. This work was also supported by the national funded project NTec/SQA/0131/2007 from FCT