title: Fluorescent carbon dot (C-dot) nanoclusters.
abstract: Fluorescent carbon dot (C-dot) nanoclusters composed of C-dot-loaded hollow silica spheres are obtained via the dehydration of mannose, which is adsorbed onto hollow silica spheres or poly(ethylene glycol)-graft-hollow silica spheres (PEG-g-hollow silica). The structure of C-dot nanoclusters are confirmed using 1H NMR, FTIR, TEM and TGA. C-dot nanoclusters show a redshifted fluorescence emission with an increased excitation wavelength. Passivation with PEG diamines improve the quantum yields to ∼2%. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) results reflect the fact that C-dot nanoclusters can provide good cytoplasm imaging of live Hep G2 cells and live MCF-7 cells, and the imaging obtained is brighter and more even than those from free C-dots. With their combination of good photostability and low cytotoxicity, C-dot nanoclusters are promising for the production of higher quality bioimaging.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A *STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research), 3 Research Link, Singapore 117602.
authors.forename: Guan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiaoyong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Liuqun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Weiren
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Jatin N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000737:chemistry; D005453:Fluorescence; D056945:Hep G2 Cells; D006801:Humans; D061986:MCF-7 Cells; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D061848:Optical Imaging; D045663:Quantum Dots / Q000737:chemistry*; D012822:Silicon Dioxide
chemical_list: D002244:Carbon; D012822:Silicon Dioxide