(82b) Nanoscale Science and Engineering Forum Award Winner: Quantum Dots for Clinical Diagnostics: A Commercialization Story

Quantum dots are semiconductor nanoparticles that were first discovered in the early 1980s. Because of their small size, they experience quantum confinement, which gives them many unique properties important for fluorescence imaging, including broad excitation spectra, narrow emission bandwidths, and size tunable fluorescence. However, despite initial attempts in the late 1990s and early 2000s to introduce them for biological imaging, they failed to replace traditional fluorophore dyes. My research for the last 25 years has focused on uncovering and solving critical roadblocks to the application of quantum dots in clinical biological imaging. Quantum dot properties and typical formulations for biological imaging will be discussed. Among the problems plaguing these formulations is the need to transfer nanoparticles synthesized in the organic phase to aqueous media. We showed that the challenges encountered during this process, including aggregation and loss of fluorescence, result primarily from interactions with aqueous media that can lead to ligand loss and surface oxidation. To address these challenges, we developed new nanomanufacturing technologies that encapsulate quantum dots in polymer micelles. These technologies preserve original ligand structures and minimize exposure of the nanoparticles to aqueous media to maximize retention of quantum dot properties. These technologies have also enabled scalable production of these materials, leading to their commercialization. In 2012, I founded Core Quantum Technologies (CQT), a company dedicated to producing quantum dots for clinical diagnostics of hematological cancers. CQT has faced significant obstacles, including the funding “valley of death”, personnel issues, and Covid. The difficulties of hands-on participation in a start-up and navigating to a post-revenue company will be described. CQT now offers a vibrant product line of quantum dot and magnetic quantum dot reagents, an example of a successful the “bench to bedside” transition. These nanomaterials improve upon the accuracy and precision of current diagnostic technologies and offer new avenues for personalized medicine and patient therapeutic design.