Premium
Solid‐phase synthesis of graphene quantum dots from the food additive citric acid under microwave irradiation and their use in live‐cell imaging
Author(s) -
Zhuang Qianfen,
Wang Yong,
Ni Yongnian
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
luminescence
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.428
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1522-7243
pISSN - 1522-7235
DOI - 10.1002/bio.3019
Subject(s) - graphene , quantum dot , materials science , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , photoluminescence , spectroscopy , fluorescence , transmission electron microscopy , citric acid , fluorescence spectroscopy , analytical chemistry (journal) , photochemistry , quantum yield , nuclear chemistry , nanotechnology , chemistry , chemical engineering , optoelectronics , optics , organic chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
The work demonstrated that solid citric acid, one of the most common food additives, can be converted to graphene quantum dots (GQDs) under microwave heating. The as‐prepared GQDs were further characterized by various analytical techniques like transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, X–ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, fluorescence and UV‐visible spectroscopy. Cytotoxicity of the GQDs was evaluated using HeLa cells. The result showed that the GQDs almost did not exhibit cytotoxicity at concentrations as high as 1000 µg mL –1 . In addition, it was found that the GQDs showed good solubility, excellent photostability, and excitation‐dependent multicolor photoluminescence. Subsequently, the multicolor GQDs were successfully used as a fluorescence light‐up probe for live‐cell imaging. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.