title: Red-green-blue fluorescent hollow carbon nanoparticles isolated from chromatographic fractions for cellular imaging.
abstract: An as-synthesised hollow carbon nanoparticle (HC-NP) sample has been proved to be a relatively complex mixture, and its complexity can be reduced significantly by high-performance liquid chromatography. An unprecedented reduction in such complexity can reveal fractions of HC-NP with unique luminescence properties. While the UV-vis absorption profile for the HC-NP mixture is featureless, the HC-NP fractions do possess unique absorption bands and specific emission wavelengths. The HC-NP fractions are fully anatomised by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry, displaying their fragmentation mass ion features. The shell thickness and crystal lattices of the selected HC-NP fractions are determined as 6.13, 8.31, 2.22, and 8.66 nm, and 0.37, 0.35, 0.33, and 0.32 nm by transmission electron microscopy, respectively. The fractionated HC-NP show profound differences in emission quantum yield, allowing for brighter HC-NP to be isolated from an apparent low quantum yield mixture. Finally, red, green and blue emissive HC-NP are isolated from the as-synthesised HC-NP sample. They show good photostability and have been demonstrated to be excellent probes for cellular imaging.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Science, and School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China. dc@sxu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xiaojuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Man Chin
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Paau
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Shaomin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shuang
authors.forename: Chuan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Martin M F
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D056148:Chromatography, Reverse-Phase; D006801:Humans; D007477:Ions / Q000737:chemistry; D061986:MCF-7 Cells; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity; D010316:Particle Size; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet
chemical_list: D007477:Ions; D002244:Carbon