Perylene-Derived Hydrophilic Carbon Dots with Polychromatic Emissions as Superior Bioimaging and NIR-Responsive Photothermal Bactericidal Agent.
Md MoniruzzamanSayan Deb DuttaKi-Taek LimJongsung KimPublished in: ACS omega (2022)
Little progress has been achieved on the synthesis of hydrophilic carbon dots (CDs), derived from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, as an excellent photothermal agent. In this study, a strategy was developed to synthesize highly photoluminescent greenish-yellow emissive CDs based on nitration followed by hydrothermal carbonization of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon precursor, perylene. The perylene-derived CDs (PY-CDs) exhibited an excellent NIR-light (808 nm) harvesting property toward high photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE = ∼56.7%) and thus demonstrated remarkable NIR-light responsive photothermal bactericidal performance. Furthermore, these fluorescent PY-CD nanoprobes displayed excitation-dependent polychromatic emissions in the range of 538-600 nm, with the maximum emission at 538 nm. This enables intense multicolor biological imaging of cellular substances with long-term photostability, nontoxicity, and effective subcellular distribution. The bactericidal action of PY-CDs is likely due to the elevated reactive oxygen species amplification in cooperation with the hyperthermia effect. This study offers a potential substitute for multicolor imaging-guided metal-free carbon-based photothermal therapy.
Keyphrases
- photodynamic therapy
- quantum dots
- fluorescence imaging
- drug release
- cancer therapy
- energy transfer
- polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
- drug delivery
- reactive oxygen species
- high resolution
- fluorescent probe
- visible light
- liquid chromatography
- living cells
- nucleic acid
- mass spectrometry
- life cycle
- anaerobic digestion
- heavy metals