Additional file 1: Figure S1. of Next-Generation Theranostic Agents Based on Polyelectrolyte Microcapsules Encoded with Semiconductor Nanocrystals: Development and Functional Characterization

Schematic diagram of a theranostic agent based on polyelectrolyte microcapsules. Figure S2. Size distributions of calcium carbonate microparticles obtained at stirring rates of 250 (a), 500 (b), and 750-rpm (c). The stirring duration was 30 s in all cases. The size distribution diagrams are based on the measurements of individual microparticles (n = 350). The differences between samples a, b, and c are significant (p < < 0.05). Figure S3. Size distributions of calcium carbonate microparticles obtained at stirring durations of 15 (a), 30 (b), and 60 s (c). The stirring rate was 250 rpm in all cases. The size distribution diagrams are based on the measurements of individual microparticles (n = 350). The differences between samples a, b, and c are significant (p < < 0.05). Figure S4. Size distribution of the solubilized quantum dots as estimated by the volume occupied by the particles (a), the number of the particles (b), or the light scattering intensity (c). (DOCX 457 kb

Combined Scanning Probe Nanotomography and Optical Microspectroscopy: A Correlative Technique for 3D Characterization of Nanomaterials

Combination of 3D structural analysis with optical characterization of the same sample area on the nanoscale is a highly demanded approach in nanophotonics, materials science, and quality control of nanomaterial. We have developed a correlative microscopy technique where the 3D structure of the sample is reconstructed on the nanoscale by means of a “slice-and-view” combination of ultramicrotomy and scanning probe microscopy (scanning probe nanotomography, SPNT), and its optical characteristics are analyzed using microspectroscopy. This approach has been used to determine the direct quantitative relationship of the 3D structural characteristics of nanovolumes of materials with their microscopic optical properties. This technique has been applied to 3D structural and optical characterization of a hybrid material consisting of cholesteric liquid crystals doped with fluorescent quantum dots (QDs) that can be used for photochemical patterning and image recording through the changes in the dissymmetry factor of the circular polarization of QD emission. The differences in the polarization images and fluorescent spectra of this hybrid material have proved to be correlated with the arrangement of the areas of homogeneous distribution and heterogeneous clustering of QDs. The reconstruction of the 3D nanostructure of the liquid crystal matrix in the areas of homogeneous QDs distribution has shown that QDs do not perturb the periodic planar texture of the cholesteric liquid crystal matrix, whereas QD clusters do perturb it. The combined microspectroscopy–nanotomography technique will be important for evaluating the effects of nanoparticles on the structural organization of organic and liquid crystal matrices and biomedical materials, as well as quality control of nanotechnology fabrication processes and products

Highly Sensitive Single Domain Antibody–Quantum Dot Conjugates for Detection of HER2 Biomarker in Lung and Breast Cancer Cells

Despite the widespread availability of immunohistochemical and other methodologies for screening and early detection of lung and breast cancer biomarkers, diagnosis of the early stage of cancers can be difficult and prone to error. The identification and validation of early biomarkers specific to lung and breast cancers, which would permit the development of more sensitive methods for detection of early disease onset, is urgently needed. In this paper, ultra-small and bright nanoprobes based on quantum dots (QDs) conjugated to single domain anti-HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) antibodies (sdAbs) were applied for immunolabeling of breast and lung cancer cell lines, and their performance was compared to that of anti-HER2 monoclonal antibodies conjugated to conventional organic dyes Alexa Fluor 488 and Alexa Fluor 568. The sdAbs–QD conjugates achieved superior staining in a panel of lung cancer cell lines with differential HER2 expression. This shows their outstanding potential for the development of more sensitive assays for early detection of cancer biomarkers