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Synthesis and Application of Carbon Quantum Dots Derived from Carbon Black in Bioimaging

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Abstract

Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) are a new type of fluorescent QDs that consists mainly of carbon atoms. In this research, CQDs were synthesized through harsh oxidizing conditions applied on carbon black and subsequent N-doping using hexamethylenetetramine (Hexamine) and polyethyleneimine (PEI). The synthesized CQDs were characterized using FTIR, AFM, UV-Visible spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, and fluorescence imaging respectively. The AFM images showed that the dots are in the range of 2–8 nm. N-doping of the CQDs increased the PL intensity. The PL enhancement for the CQDs that were N-doped with PEI was higher compared to those N-doped with hexamine. The shift in PL by changing the excitation wavelength has been attributed to the nano-size of the CQDs, functional groups, defect traps, and quantum confinement effect. The in vitro fluorescence imaging revealed that N-doped CQDs can internalize into the cells and be used for fluorescent cell imaging.

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Data Availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to appreciate the Shahrood University of Technology and the Iranian Nanotechnology Initiative Council for their financial support of this project.

Funding

This work has been conducted by financial support from the Shahrood University of Technology and the Iranian Nanotechnology Initiative Council.

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  1. Faculty of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood, 3619995161, Iran

    Mohammad Jafar Molaei

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Credit author statementMohammad Jafar Molaei: All work including Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Data Curation, Writing - Original Draft, Writing - Review & Editing, Visualization, and Funding acquisition has been done by Mohammad Jafar Molaei.

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Correspondence to Mohammad Jafar Molaei.

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Mohammad Jafar Molaei: All work including conceptualization, methodology, validation, formal analysis, investigation, data curation, writing - original draft, writing - review & editing, and funding acquisition has been done by Mohammad Jafar Molaei.

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Molaei, M.J. Synthesis and Application of Carbon Quantum Dots Derived from Carbon Black in Bioimaging. J Fluoresc 34, 213–226 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10895-023-03252-w

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