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Published on: December 22, 2015
Preparation of Gold-Carbon Dots and Ratiometric Fluorescence Cellular Imaging
Lingyang Zhang1, Donghui Wang2, Haowen Huang1
1Key Laboratory of Theoretical Organic Chemistry and Function Molecule, Ministry of Education, Hunan Provincial University Key Laboratory of QSAR/QSPR, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology , Xiangtan 411201, China.
Abstract:
In this study, we synthesized novel gold-carbon dots (GCDs) with unique properties by microwave-assisted method. The characterization of high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), XRD, high-angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscope (HAADF-STEM), and energy dispersive spectrometer demonstrates that GCDs are composed of carbon and Au. Tiny Au clusters are dispersed in a 2 nm-size carbon skeleton, which integrates the properties of typical CDs and gold nanoclusters (AuNCs), displaying fascinating peroxidase-like activity and single excitation/dual emission. Dual emission of the GCDs exhibits different fluorescent response to the target species and enables the GCDs to be exploited for sensing and bioimaging. The highly photostable and biocompatible GCDs were applied to dual fluorescent imaging for breast cancer cells and normal rat osteoblast cells under a single excitation. Moreover, ratiometric fluorescence imaging was used to monitor Fe(3+) level in normal rat osteoblast cells.
