Quantum dots (Qdots) have proven to be the best when it comes to cell organelle labeling or cellular tracking and have made a great impact in the field of biomedical optical imaging. Recently the smaller Qdots (< 10 nm) have shown improved cellular imaging over previous generations of Qdots, however the metal content in their formulation still hinders their progress towards translational venue. Carbon dots (Cdots) are novel carbon based zero-dimensional fluorescent nanoparticles which have shown promise as replacements for for the conventional metal based Qdots. However, their cellular uptake and in vivo imaging applicability are not well-known. Herein, following our work with other multifunctional nanoprobes and nano-delivery systems, we have functionalized Cdots and used combined atomic force microscopy (AFM) and fluorescence imaging to show them to be of less than 10 nm in size and equally photo-stable. Moreover, we show their cellular uptake in various cancerous, non-cancerous and stem cell types using confocal and two-photon fluorescence imaging. Promising biophysical technique quantitative nanomechanical mapping (QNM) analysis via bio-AFM was carried out to probe the cellular response in presence of Cdots with different surface coatings. Cdots have the potential to impact in both health and environmental applications because of their low cost, ready scalability, excellent chemical stability, biocompatibility, colloidal stability, and resilience of PL in vivo.

Cellular interactions of carbon nanodots at the nanoscale

246th National Meeting (2013)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.