title: Easy synthesis and imaging applications of cross-linked green fluorescent hollow carbon nanoparticles.
abstract: We propose an ingenious method for synthesizing cross-linked hollow fluorescent carbon nanoparticles (HFCNs) with green emission by simply mixing acetic acid, water, and diphosphorus pentoxide. This is an automatic method without external heat treatment to rapidly produce large quantities of HFCNs, in contrast to other syntheses of fluorescent carbon nanoparticles that required high temperature, complicated operations, or long reaction times. Characterizations of HFCNs through high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, infrared/Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction indicate that abundant small oxygenous graphite domains existed and endowed the HFCNs with fluorescent properties. After simple post-treatments, the cross-linked HFCNs can be used for cell-imaging applications. Compared with traditional dyes and CdTe quantum dots, HFCNs are the superior fluorescent bioimaging agent according to their low toxicity, stability, and resistance to photobleaching. The HFCNs were also applied to watermark ink and fluorescent powder, showing their promising potentials for further wide usage.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, Jilin, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Youxing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Shaojun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Chengzhou
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Shaojun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Erkang
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D058948:Cell Tracking / Q000379:methods*; D003287:Contrast Media; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000737:chemistry; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D008853:Microscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D057054:Molecular Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon