title: One-step synthesis of photoluminescent carbon dots with excitation-independent emission for selective bioimaging and gene delivery.
abstract: Photoluminescent carbon dots (C-dots), as new members of the quantum sized carbon analogues have attracted significant attention due to their unique size, less toxicity, good compatibility and relatively easy surface modification. In this work, we report a simple, low-cost and one-step hydrothermal carbonization approach to synthesize the positively charged C-dots using PEI and FA. From the photoluminescence (PL) measurements, the as-prepared C-dots exhibit good stability and intense PL with the high quantum yield (QY) at Ca. 42%. Significantly, The as-prepared C-dots integrate the advantages of C-dots and PEI: the presence of C-dots can effectively decrease the cytotoxicity of PEI, the C-dots can be applied in biological system for selective imaging of folate receptor (FR)-positive cancerous cells from normal cells, while the cationic PEI with positive charges can make them link to plasmid DNA and efficiently transfect the therapeutic plasmid into cells. Therefore, the as-prepared with the facile synthesis method can be a promising photoluminescent probe for cancer diagnosis and gene therapy.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, Advanced Institute of Materials Science, Changchun University of Technology, Changchun 130012, PR China. Electronic address: yangxudong10@163.com.
authors.forename: Xudong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, Advanced Institute of Materials Science, Changchun University of Technology, Changchun 130012, PR China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, Advanced Institute of Materials Science, Changchun University of Technology, Changchun 130012, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiran
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, Advanced Institute of Materials Science, Changchun University of Technology, Changchun 130012, PR China.
authors.forename: Chunyan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, Advanced Institute of Materials Science, Changchun University of Technology, Changchun 130012, PR China.
authors.forename: Jinghua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, Advanced Institute of Materials Science, Changchun University of Technology, Changchun 130012, PR China.
authors.forename: Mingjun
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piao
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, Advanced Institute of Materials Science, Changchun University of Technology, Changchun 130012, PR China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, Advanced Institute of Materials Science, Changchun University of Technology, Changchun 130012, PR China.
authors.forename: Guanghui
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, Advanced Institute of Materials Science, Changchun University of Technology, Changchun 130012, PR China.
authors.forename: Long
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, PR China. Electronic address: linquan@jlu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Quan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D002470:Cell Survival; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry; D058973:Folate Receptors, GPI-Anchored / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D061848:Optical Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D010316:Particle Size; D011094:Polyethyleneimine; D045663:Quantum Dots / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D058973:Folate Receptors, GPI-Anchored; D002244:Carbon; D011094:Polyethyleneimine; D005492:Folic Acid
keywords: Cancer diagnosis; Carbon dots; Fluorescence; Gene therapy; Selective image