title: Solid-phase synthesis of graphene quantum dots from the food additive citric acid under microwave irradiation and their use in live-cell imaging.
abstract: The work demonstrated that solid citric acid, one of the most common food additives, can be converted to graphene quantum dots (GQDs) under microwave heating. The as-prepared GQDs were further characterized by various analytical techniques like transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, fluorescence and UV-visible spectroscopy. Cytotoxicity of the GQDs was evaluated using HeLa cells. The result showed that the GQDs almost did not exhibit cytotoxicity at concentrations as high as 1000 µg mL(-1). In addition, it was found that the GQDs showed good solubility, excellent photostability, and excitation-dependent multicolor photoluminescence. Subsequently, the multicolor GQDs were successfully used as a fluorescence light-up probe for live-cell imaging.
authors: College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330031, China.
authors: Qianfen
authors: Q
authors: Zhuang
authors: College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330031, China.
authors: Yong
authors: Y
authors: Wang
authors: College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330031, China.|State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330047, China.
authors: Yongnian
authors: Y
authors: Ni
mesh_terms: D002470:Cell Survival; D019343:Citric Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D005503:Food Additives / Q000737:chemistry*; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D049449:Luminescence; D008872:Microwaves; D055668:Photochemical Processes; D045663:Quantum Dots; D012995:Solubility
chemical_list: D005503:Food Additives; D019343:Citric Acid; D006108:Graphite
keywords: cell imaging; citric acid; graphene quantum dots; solid-phase synthesis