Quantum dots identify sick cells
October 27, 2004 | Source: KurzweilAI
University of Toronto professor Warren Chan is developing quantum dots — nanoscale semiconductors — that can target a disease site and light it up.
By attaching a quantum dot to a molecule that will target a specific type of cancer, for example, over time, the dots will accumulate in the tumor and light up in that particular region.
This could someday lead to a system that would also use the quantum dots to bring drug therapies to the disease site.