DNA-carbon dots function as fluorescent vehicles for drug delivery

Carbon dots (CDs) are a new representative in the carbon-based material family, attracting tremendous interest in a large variety of fields, including biomedicine. In this report, we described a facile and green system for synthesizing DNA-CDs using genomic DNA isolated from Escherichia coli. DNA-CDs can be purified using a simple column centrifugation-based system. During DNA-CD synthesis, ribose was collapsed, accompanied by the release of nitrogen, and several new bonds (C-OH, N-O, and N-P) were formed, while the other covalent bonds of DNA were largely maintained. The presence of abundant chemical groups, such as amino or hydroxyl groups on DNA-CDs, may facilitate their future functionalization. These highly biocompatible DNA-CDs can serve as a new type of fluorescent vehicle for cell imaging and drug delivery studies. Our research may hasten the development of CDs for prominent future biomedical applications.