Abstract
A jelly-like form of carbon dots (C-dots) was prepared by microwave-assisted synthesis from citric acid in the presence of tetraoctylammonium bromide. The effect of the concentration of tetraoctylammonium bromide was examined. The synthesized carbon dots were characterized by UV–vis, XRD, FTIR, fluorescence and HR-TEM. Fluorescence extends from 350 to 600 nm, and the corresponding excitation wavelengths range from 300 to 460 nm. Quantum yields are at around 0.11. A cytotoxicity study showed carbon dots to be cell permeable and biocompatible which renders them appropriate for imaging applications. The dots were used to image HeLa cell lines via the blue fluorescence of the dots.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Blau W, Ji W (2012) Feature issue introduction: nanocarbon for photonics and optoelectronics. Opt Mater Express 2(6):891–892
Zhou J, Sheng Z, Han H, Zou M, Li C (2012) Facile synthesis of fluorescent carbon dots using watermelon peel as a carbon source. Mater Lett 66(1):222–224
Liu R, Wu D, Liu S, Koynov K, Knoll W, Li Q (2009) An aqueous route to multicolor photoluminescent carbon dots using silica spheres as carriers. Angew Chem 121(25):4668–4671
Yang S-T, Cao L, Luo PG, Lu F, Wang X, Wang H, Meziani MJ, Liu Y, Qi G, Sun Y-P (2009) Carbon dots for optical imaging in vivo. J Am Chem Soc 131(32):11308–11309
Kozák OE, Datta KKR, Greplová M, Vc R, Kašlík J, Zbořil R (2013) Surfactant-derived amphiphilic carbon dots with tunable photoluminescence. J Phys Chem C 117(47):24991–24996
Li H, He X, Kang Z, Huang H, Liu Y, Liu J, Lian S, Tsang CHA, Yang X, Lee ST (2010) Water‐soluble fluorescent carbon quantum dots and photocatalyst design. Angew Chem Int Ed 49(26):4430–4434
Zhu C, Zhai J, Dong S (2012) Bifunctional fluorescent carbon nanodots: green synthesis via soy milk and application as metal-free electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction. Chem Commun 48(75):9367–9369
Zhu A, Qu Q, Shao X, Kong B, Tian Y (2012) Carbon‐dot‐based dual‐emission nanohybrid produces a ratiometric fluorescent sensor for in vivo imaging of cellular copper ions. Angew Chem 124(29):7297–7301
Zheng M, Liu S, Li J, Qu D, Zhao H, Guan X, Hu X, Xie Z, Jing X, Sun Z (2014) Integrating oxaliplatin with highly luminescent carbon dots: an unprecedented theranostic agent for personalized medicine. Adv Mater 26(21):3554–3560
Chen Y, Liang H (2014) Applications of quantum dots with upconverting luminescence in bioimaging. J Photochem Photobiol B Biol 135:23–32
Ding H, Zhang P, Wang T-Y, Kong J-L, Xiong H-M (2014) Nitrogen-doped carbon dots derived from polyvinyl pyrrolidone and their multicolor cell imaging. Nanotechnology 25(20):205604
Jiang C, Wu H, Song X, Ma X, Wang J, Tan M (2014) Presence of photoluminescent carbon dots in Nescafe® original instant coffee: Applications to bioimaging. Talanta 127:68–74
Mehta VN, Jha S, Kailasa SK (2014) One-pot green synthesis of carbon dots by using Saccharum officinarum juice for fluorescent imaging of bacteria (Escherichia coli) and yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) cells. Mater Sci Eng C 38:20–27
Wang Z, Qu Y, Gao X, Mu C, Bai J, Pu Q (2014) Facile preparation of oligo (ethylene glycol)-capped fluorescent carbon dots from glutamic acid for plant cell imaging. Mater Lett 129:122–125
Liang Q, Ma W, Shi Y, Li Z, Yang X (2013) Easy synthesis of highly fluorescent carbon quantum dots from gelatin and their luminescent properties and applications. Carbon 60:421–428
da Silva JCE, Gonçalves HM (2011) Analytical and bioanalytical applications of carbon dots. TrAC Trends Anal Chem 30(8):1327–1336
Pisanello F, Leménager G, Martiradonna L, Carbone L, Vezzoli S, Desfonds P, Cozzoli PD, Hermier JP, Giacobino E, Cingolani R (2013) Non‐blinking single‐photon generation with anisotropic colloidal nanocrystals: towards room‐temperature, efficient, colloidal quantum sources. Adv Mater 25(14):1974–1980
Algarra M, Pérez-Martín M, Cifuentes-Rueda M, Jiménez-Jiménez J, da Silva JE, Bandosz T, Rodríguez-Castellón E, Navarrete JL, Casado J (2014) Carbon dots obtained using hydrothermal treatment of formaldehyde. Cell imaging in vitro. Nanoscale 6(15):9071–9077
Wang F, Pang S, Wang L, Li Q, Kreiter M, Liu C-Y (2010) One-step synthesis of highly luminescent carbon dots in noncoordinating solvents. Chem Mater 22(16):4528–4530
Yang X, Zhuo Y, Zhu S, Luo Y, Feng Y, Dou Y (2014) Novel and green synthesis of high-fluorescent carbon dots originated from honey for sensing and imaging. Biosens Bioelectron 60:292–298
Mazzier D, Favaro M, Agnoli S, Silvestrini S, Granozzi G, Maggini M, Moretto A (2014) Synthesis of luminescent 3D microstructures formed by carbon quantum dots and their self-assembly properties. Chem Commun 50(50):6592–6595
Wang J, Cheng C, Huang Y, Zheng B, Yuan H, Bo L, Zheng M-W, Yang S-Y, Guo Y, Xiao D (2014) A facile large-scale microwave synthesis of highly fluorescent carbon dots from benzenediol isomers. J Mater Chem C 2(25):5028–5035
Ye C, Zhong X, Yuan R, Chai Y (2014) A novel ECL biosensor based on C 60 embedded in tetraoctylammonium bromide for the determination of glucose. Sensors Actuators B Chem 199:101–107
Teh GB, Nagalingam S, Tilley RD, Ramesh S, Lim YS (2009) Colloidal synthesis of silicon nanocrystals Via inverse micelles microemulsion. Zeitschrift für Physikalische Chemie Int J Res Phys Chem Chem Phys 223(12):1417–1426
Nair SS, John SA, Sagara T (2009) Simultaneous determination of paracetamol and ascorbic acid using tetraoctylammonium bromide capped gold nanoparticles immobilized on 1, 6-hexanedithiol modified Au electrode. Electrochim Acta 54(27):6837–6843
Stowell CA, Korgel BA (2005) Iridium nanocrystal synthesis and surface coating-dependent catalytic activity. Nano Lett 5(7):1203–1207
Miranda OR, Dollahon NR, Ahmadi TS (2006) Critical concentrations and role of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in the crystallization of gold nanorods within hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB)/tetraoctyl ammonium bromide (TOAB) micelles. Cryst Growth Des 6(12):2747–2753
Tilley RD, Warner JH, Yamamoto K, Matsui I, Fujimori H (2005) Micro-emulsion synthesis of monodisperse surface stabilized silicon nanocrystals. Chem Commun 14:1833–1835
Miranda OR, Ahmadi TS (2005) Effects of intensity and energy of CW UV light on the growth of gold nanorods. J Phys Chem B 109(33):15724–15734
Baker SN, Baker GA (2010) Luminescent carbon nanodots: emergent nanolights. Angew Chem Int Ed 49(38):6726–6744
Hu S-L, Niu K-Y, Sun J, Yang J, Zhao N-Q, Du X-W (2009) One-step synthesis of fluorescent carbon nanoparticles by laser irradiation. J Mater Chem 19(4):484–488
Lin H, Lin T, Juang J (2007) Abl deregulates Cdk5 kinase activity and subcellular localization in Drosophila neurodegeneration. Cell Death Differ 14(3):607–615
Zhu B, Sun S, Wang Y, Deng S, Qian G, Wang M, Hu A (2013) Preparation of carbon nanodots from single chain polymeric nanoparticles and theoretical investigation of the photoluminescence mechanism. J Mater Chem C 1(3):580–586
Monteiro-Riviere NA, Inman AO, Zhang L (2009) Limitations and relative utility of screening assays to assess engineered nanoparticle toxicity in a human cell line. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 234(2):222–235
Yang S-T, Wang X, Wang H, Lu F, Luo PG, Cao L, Meziani MJ, Liu J-H, Liu Y, Chen M (2009) Carbon dots as nontoxic and high-performance fluorescence imaging agents. J Phys Chem C 113(42):18110–18114
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan and the assistance from National Sun Yat-Sen University. The authors appreciate Mr. Bosgum Wu for his help in the acquisition of chemicals and materials.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bhaisare, M.L., Talib, A., Khan, M.S. et al. Synthesis of fluorescent carbon dots via microwave carbonization of citric acid in presence of tetraoctylammonium ion, and their application to cellular bioimaging. Microchim Acta 182, 2173–2181 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-015-1541-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-015-1541-5