Fabrication of graphene quantum dots and hexagonal boron nitride nanocomposites for fluorescent cell imaging

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) with green fluorescence were incorporated onto hexagonal boron nitride sheets (HBN) through electrostatic interaction by using poly(diallyldimethylammonium) (PDDA) as the bridge to fabricate the novel nanocomposites (HBN-GQDs). The HBN-GQDs nanocomposites exhibited strong green fluorescent property, high stability, water solubility, very low cytotoxicity on Hela cells. These properties make the HBN-GQDs nanocomposites as good candidate materials for biological applications. The results for the imaging of live cells indicated that the cell-penetrating HBN-GQDs could be a promising nanoprobe for intracellular imaging and therapeutic applications.