title: Monosodium glutamate derived tricolor fluorescent carbon nanoparticles for cell-imaging application.
abstract: Fluorescent carbon nanoparticle (FCN) is a new type of carbon-based materials. Because of its wide raw material sources, excellent optical properties and good biocompatibility, FCN is getting more and more attentions. However, its synthesis from resources at low cost under mild conditions is still a challenge. Here we report a novel and simple method derived from monosodium glutamate carbonization to make tricolor fluorescent carbon nanoparticles with an average size below 10nm, a high yield up to 35.2% based on the carbon content in the resource, a long life-time of 3.71ns, and a high fluorescence quantum yield up to 51.5% by using quinine sulfate as the standard substance. We discovered that the fluorescent stability of the FCNs was very excellent under UV irradiation for hours in aqueous solutions of pH ranged from 2.0 to 9.0. The cell viability tested under a pretty high concentration of FCNs indicated their safety for biological applications. Based on their high fluorescence quantum efficiency and the advantages mentioned above, these FCNs were then used for cell imaging and exhibited a perfect performance under 3 kinds of excitation bands (UV, blue, and green lights). Thus, they can be practically applied to immune labeling and imaging in vivo in the near future.
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China.
authors.forename: Nannan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China.
authors.forename: Sha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China. Electronic address: xpzhou@dhu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xingping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D003116:Color; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D061848:Optical Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D010316:Particle Size; D011803:Quinine / Q000737:chemistry; D012970:Sodium Glutamate / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D002244:Carbon; D011803:Quinine; D012970:Sodium Glutamate
keywords: Carbon nanoparticles; Cell imaging; Luminescence; Monosodium glutamate; Tricolor