Quantum dots to improve diagnostic accuracy of biomedical assays and devices

Quantum Materials Corp. announced today that it has provided Tetrapod Quantum Dots (TQD) to an advanced medical device manufacturer to optimize performance of an "engineered spectrum" quantum dot-enabled light source to better provide useful data to researchers and practitioners that has not been easily discernible until now.

David Doderer, Quantum Materials Vice President of R&D, explained, "We are fulfilling specific requests for tetrapod quantum dots, in this case, to create tailored light for investigation of tissue. Differences between healthy and suspect tissue often can be better identified if the available fluorophores' color combination is engineered for either true representation of color, or emphasized in the visible spectrum depending on the tissue type. I think our bespoke tetrapod quantum dots provide the depth of data necessary to highlight subtle differences that researchers and healthcare professionals need to efficiently understand disease and devise effective treatments."

To achieve efficient healthcare in an increasingly demanding marketplace, the ability to get actionable information is crucial. Medical diagnostic assays currently count in the multi-millions per year and per country, and differences in tissues types at the cellular level are critically important for accuracy in results. Conventional organic dyes and other types of fluorophores are currently used for luminescence in assays by researchers, but they have limitations sometimes preventing clear distinctions in reading the data. Broad data sets can tend to obscure patterns that might become clear by removing these uncertainties.

Tetrapod quantum dots address this issue well for biochemical detection and biomedical device application by providing a broad array of colors, which translates to increased number of pieces in the data set, and also precise tune-ability and stability for high contrast and distinctive identification certainty. For biochemical detection, most typically in a rapid assay that provides a breadth of data in a single test kit, Quantum Materials has begun conversations with biotech researchers and companies needing narrow color emissions to provide clear identification when identifying particular targets by attaching to the desired organism or cell type when specifically functionalized.

As part of this effort, Quantum Materials is developing a suitable TQD film for medical devices while maintaining consistency in both uniformity and scalability. Quantum Materials believes this technology, one of several under review, could also successfully translate into Tetrapod Quantum Dot film applications such as general light applications, electronic displays and quantum dot solar cells.

Provided by Quantum Materials Corp.