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Fluorescent carbon dots for sensitive determination and intracellular imaging of zinc(II) ion

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Abstract

We describe the preparation of carbon dots (CDs) from glucose that possess high stability, a quantum yield of 0.32, and low toxicity (according to an MTT assay). They were used, in combination with the fluorogenic zinc(II) probe quercetin to establish a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) system for the determination of Zn(II). The CDs are acting as the donor, and the quercetin-Zn(II) complex as the acceptor. This is possible because of the strong overlap between the fluorescence spectrum of CDs and the absorption spectrum of the complex. The method enables Zn(II) to be determined in the 2 to 100 μM concentration range, with a 2 μM detection limit. The method was applied to image the distribution of Zn(II) ions in HeLa cells.

Based on the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between carbon dots and quercetin (QCT)-Zn2+, the fluorescence indicator was established, which displays high sensitivity and selectivity in the detection of Zn2+. The method was also applied to image the distribution of Zn(II) ions in HeLa cells.

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported by Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (2012CB825803, 2013CB932702), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51422207, 51132006, 21471106), the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education (20123201110018), a Suzhou Planning Project of Science and Technology (ZXG2012028), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China (BK20140310), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2014M560445), and a project funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Soochow University, 199 Ren’ai Road, Suzhou, 215123, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Manman Yang, Weiqian Kong, Hao Li, Juan Liu, Hui Huang, Yang Liu & Zhenhui Kang

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  1. Manman Yang
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  2. Weiqian Kong
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  3. Hao Li
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  4. Juan Liu
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  5. Hui Huang
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  6. Yang Liu
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  7. Zhenhui Kang
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Correspondence to Hui Huang or Yang Liu.

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Yang, M., Kong, W., Li, H. et al. Fluorescent carbon dots for sensitive determination and intracellular imaging of zinc(II) ion. Microchim Acta 182, 2443–2450 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-015-1592-7

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