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Synthesis of red fluorescent graphene quantum dot-europium complex composites as a viable bioimaging platform

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Abstract

We have prepared graphene quantum dot-europium(III) complex composites by noncovalently connecting chelating ligands dibenzoylmethane (DBM) and 1,10-phenanthroline (Phen) with graphene quantum dots (GQDs) first, followed by coordination to Eu(III). The resulting composites are well water-soluble and display red fluorescence of high color purity. The composites were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Aqueous solutions of the composites under 365 nm excitation display fluorescence with a peak at 613 nm and a quantum yield as high as 15.5 %. The good water solubility and stable photoluminescence make the composites very different from other Eu(III)-based coordination complexes. The composites are cell viable and can be used to label both the cell membrane and the cytoplasm of MCF-7 cells. They are also shown to act as bioprobes for in-vivo localization of tumorous tissue. In our perception, such composites are expected to possess wide scope because of the many functionalizations that are possible with GQDs.

Synthesis of red fluorescent graphene quantum dot-europium complex composites for use in bioimaging.

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported by NSFC of China (21573019), the Major Research Plan of NSFC (21233003), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Yanting Liu & Louzhen Fan

  2. Department of Cell Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, 100191, China

    Shixin Zhou

  3. Shanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030012, China

    Hong Fan

Authors
  1. Yanting Liu
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  2. Shixin Zhou
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  3. Louzhen Fan
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  4. Hong Fan
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Correspondence to Louzhen Fan or Hong Fan.

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Liu, Y., Zhou, S., Fan, L. et al. Synthesis of red fluorescent graphene quantum dot-europium complex composites as a viable bioimaging platform. Microchim Acta 183, 2605–2613 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-016-1909-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-016-1909-1

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