One-Pot Microwave Synthesis of Fluorescent Carbogenic Nanoparticles from Triton X-100 for Cell Imaging

Identifying molecular fluorophore impurities in the synthesis of low-oxygen-content, carbon nanodots derived from pyrene

Determination of the formation of bright molecular fluorphores during the synthesis of pyrene-derived CNDs, through extensive separation and systematic characterization.

Purification and structural elucidation of carbon dots by column chromatography

Carbon dots (CDs) are an astonishing class of fluorescent materials with many applications in bioimaging, drug delivery, photovoltaics and photocatalysis due to their outstanding luminescence properties and low toxicity. However, the internal CD structure of bottom-up synthesized CDs is still the subject of considerable debate. Unambiguous analysis of the internal CD composition is hampered by the fact that reaction products usually contain mixtures of several CD fractions as well as molecular intermediate and side products. Therefore, purification and careful separation of the various CD fractions is vital for structural analysis and isolation of pure CDs possessing optimized optical properties. In this study, CD solutions were synthesized from citric acid and cysteine via a one-pot hydrothermal synthesis. A simple column chromatography unit was used to systematically study the influence of the molar precursor ratios and synthesis conditions (temperature, reaction time) on the CD solution composition. By investigating the structural and optical properties of the chromatographically separated fractions, three different fluorescent species could be identified. Freely floating molecular fluorophores left the column first, followed by highly fluorescent CDs with fluorophores bound to the carbon core, finally followed by low-fluorescent carbon particles without fluorophores. We demonstrate that the CD solution composition and the internal structure of the individual fluorescent components can be clarified via chromatographic separation. This information can be further applied to isolate pure CDs with optimized optical properties.

Microwave-assisted one-step rapid synthesis of near-infrared gold nanoclusters for NIRF/CT dual-modal bioimaging

Highly fluorescent lysozyme-capped gold nanoclusters have been prepared using a one-step rapid microwave-assisted approach for the application of NIRF/CT dual-modal bioimaging.

Microwave-assisted facile synthesis of yellow fluorescent carbon dots from o-phenylenediamine for cell imaging and sensitive detection of Fe3+ and H2O2

CDs synthesized from o-phenylenediamine through microwave-assisted method show great potential for Fe³⁺ and H₂O₂ detection as well as cell imaging.

Highly fluorescent C-dots obtained by pyrolysis of quaternary ammonium ions trapped in all-silica ITQ-29 zeolite

C-dots obtained in the homogeneous phase may exhibit a broad particle size distribution. The formation of C-dots within nanometric reaction cavities could be a methodology to gain control on their size distribution. Among the various possibilities, in the present work, the cavities of small pore size zeolites have been used to confine C-dots generated by the pyrolysis of the organic structure directing agent present in the synthesis of these crystalline aluminosilicates. To explore this methodology, ITQ-29 zeolite having a Linde type A (LTA) structure was prepared as pure silica with 4-methyl-2,3,6,7-tetrahydro-1H,5H-pyrido[3.2.1-ij]quinolinium as the organic structure directing agent. Pyrolysis under an inert atmosphere at 550 °C of a pure-silica ITQ-29 sample (cubic particles of 4 μm edge) renders a highly fluorescent zeolite containing about 15 wt% of the carbonised residue. While another small pore zeolite, ITQ-12 (ITW), also renders photoluminescent C-dots under similar conditions, medium or large pore zeolites, such as silicalite (MFI) or pure silica Beta (BEA), failed to produce fluorescent powders under analogous thermal treatment and only decomposition and complete removal of the corresponding quaternary ammonium ion templates was observed for these zeolites. The dissolution of the pyrolysed ITQ-29 zeolite framework and the extraction of the carbon residue with ethyl acetate have allowed the characterisation of C-dots with particle sizes between 5 and 12 nm and a photoluminescence quantum yield of 0.4 upon excitation at 350 nm that is among the highest reported for non-surface functionalized C-dots. Photoluminescence varies with the excitation wavelength and is quenched by oxygen. Pyrolysed ITQ-29 powders can act as fluorescent oxygen sensors.