Synthesis of quantum dot-tagged submicrometer polystyrene particles by miniemulsion polymerization

Submicrometer fluorescent polystyrene (PS) particles have been synthesized via miniemulsion polymerization using CdSe/ZnS core-shell quantum dots (QDs). The influence of QD concentration, QD coating (either trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO)-coated or vinyl-functionalized), and surfactant concentration on the polymerization kinetics and the photoluminescence properties of the prepared particles has been analyzed. Polymerization kinetics were not altered by the presence of QDs, whatever their surface coating. Latexes exhibited particle sizes ranging from 100 to 350 nm, depending on surfactant concentration, and a narrow particle size distribution was obtained in all cases. The fluorescence signal of the particles increased with the number of incorporated TOPO-coated QDs. The slight red shift of the emission maximum was correlated with phase separation between PS and QDs, which occurred during the polymerization, locating the QDs in the vicinity of the particle/water interface. QD-tagged particles displayed higher fluorescence intensity with TOPO-coated QDs compared to those with the vinyl moiety. The obtained fluorescent particles open up new opportunities for a variety of applications in biotechnology.     

Advanced Nanotools for Imaging of Solid Tumors and Circulating and Disseminated Cancer Cells

We propose methods for creating spherical gold particles of submicron size and silver rod-like particles with transverse dimensions of ~10 nm and an aspect ratio of 1: 10. Factors determining the frequency of plasmon resonances are considered, reagents are selected, and their ratios for obtaining prolate silver particles are determined. An optimal concentration of the surfactant is determined for creating most elongated silver particles. A shift of the plasmon absorption toward the near-IR range of the spectrum is obtained.     

A highly efficient white-light-emitting diode based on a two-component polyfluorene/quantum dot composite

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are attracting great interest of the scientific community and industry because they can be grown on flexible substrates using relatively simple and inexpensive technologies (solution processes). However, a problem in the fabrication of white OLEDs is that it is difficult to achieve a balance between the intensities of individual emission components in the blue, green, and red spectral regions. In this work, we try to solve this problem by creating a two-component light-emitting diode based on modified polyfluorene (PF-BT), which efficiently emits in the blue–green region, and CdSe/ZnS/CdS/ZnS semiconductor quantum dots emitting in the orange–red region with a fluorescence quantum yield exceeding 90%. By changing the mass ratio of components in the active light-emitting composite within 40–50%, it is possible to transform the diode emission spectrum from cold to warm white light without loss of the diode efficiency. It is very likely that optimization of the morphology of multilayer light-emitting diodes will lead to further improvement of their characteristics.     

Threshold dependence of the vibrational excitation of molecules on laser radiation intensity

The collisionless vibrational excitation of a polyatomic molecule in an IR laser radiation field has been theoretically studied. It has been shown that (i) the degree of vibrational excitation (namely, number 0000 of vibrational quanta of a molecular mode near-resonant with the IR laser field that are absorbed by the molecule) is low if laser pulse intensity P (energy flux density in the laser beam) is lower than a certain critical value P _cr; (ii) the degree of excitation abruptly increases after crossing the boundary where P = P _cr; (iii) this effect is attributed to two properties inherent in polyatomic molecules, namely, the anharmonicity of the vibrational mode interacting with the laser field and the energy exchange with other modes; and (iv) at P > P _cr, number 00000 is determined only by energy density Φ = Pτ_P, where τ_P is the laser pulse duration, 00000 monotonically increases with increasing Φ. The model is in good agreement with the experimental data.     

Modern technologies for detection and identification of explosive agents and devices

The physical principles and most effective modern technologies for detecting and identifying explosive agents and devices and the analytical potential of these technologies were considered to solve the problems of antiterrorist security and countermeasures against terrorist attacks using explosive devices based on explosive agents. Particular attention was paid to the possibility of detecting explosive agents and devices, in particular, during automated control at the entrance to airports, railway stations, and various institutions and organizations and security check of suspicious persons, luggage inspection, etc. An analysis of the possibilities for identifying explosive agents and devices can evidently create conditions for expanding the existing technologies or combining them with new technologies for detecting not only various types of explosives, but also narcotic drugs, firearms, cold weapons, radioactive substances, poisonous substances, highly toxic substances, biological agents, etc.     

Erratum to: “A highly efficient white-light-emitting diode based on a two-component polyfluorene/quantum dot composite”

Optics and Spectroscopy -     

Electrooptical separation of Ca isotopes for nuclear-physics experiments

The needs of experimental nuclear physics for the ⁴⁸Ca isotope for solving some fundamental problems are analyzed and justified. A new method is proposed for the separation of calcium isotopes. This method is based on the threshold dependence of the dipole moment of the CaF₂ molecule on the vibrational quantum number of large-amplitude motions. The conditions necessary for implementing the electrooptical method of isotope separation are formulated on the basis of examining a number of molecular systems.     

Polariton-assisted manipulation of energy relaxation pathways: donor–acceptor role reversal in a tuneable microcavity

Resonant interaction between excitonic transitions of molecules and localized electromagnetic field allows the formation of hybrid light–matter polaritonic states. This hybridization of the light and the matter states has been shown to significantly alter the intrinsic properties of molecular ensembles placed inside the optical cavity. Here, we have observed strong coupling of excitonic transition in a pair of closely located organic dye molecules demonstrating an efficient donor-to-acceptor resonance energy transfer with the mode of a tuneable open-access cavity. Analysing the dependence of the relaxation pathways between energy states in this system on the cavity detuning, we have demonstrated that predominant strong coupling of the cavity photon to the exciton transition in the donor dye molecule can lead not only to an increase in the donor–acceptor energy transfer, but also to an energy shift large enough to cause inversion between the energy states of the acceptor and the mainly donor lower polariton energy state. Furthermore, we have shown that the polariton-assisted donor–acceptor chromophores'' role reversal or “carnival effect” not only changes the relative energy levels of the donor–acceptor pair, but also makes it possible to manipulate the energy flow in the systems with resonant dipole–dipole interaction and direct energy transfer from the acceptor to the mainly donor lower polariton state. Our experimental data are the first confirmation of the theoretically predicted possibility of polariton-assisted energy transfer reversal in FRET systems, thus paving the way to new avenues in FRET-imaging, remote-controlled chemistry, and all-optical switching.

Polariton-assisted donor–acceptor role reversal in resonant energy transfer between organic dyes tagged with the terminus of the closed oligonucleotide-based molecular beacon strongly coupled to electromagnetic modes of a tuneable microcavity.     

Analysis of low-frequency fluctuation of the radiation power of injection lasers

Quantum Radiophysics Division, Lebedev Physics Institute, Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Translated from Preprint No. 106 of the Lebedev Physics Institute, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow, 1989.