Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, 518060, PR China.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, 999077, Hong Kong.
Carbohydr Polym. 2019 Nov 15;224:115198. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2019.115198. Epub 2019 Aug 13.
In this contribution, citrate-based fluorophore (CF)-modified cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were prepared in a facile manner using sulfuric acid hydrolysis of citric acid/cysteine-treated microcrystalline celluloses. These rod-like CNCs have an average length of 156 nm and an average width of 7.9 nm. Because of conjugated CFs, these CNCs exhibit typical fluorescence characteristics, including a maximum excitation wavelength at 350 nm, maximum emission wavelength at 435 nm, high quantum yield of 83%, and good photostability. More importantly, these fluorescent CNCs exhibit a selective quenching effect toward Fe ions; meanwhile, these CNCs exhibit negligible cytotoxicity and were internalized by cells. Therefore, these CNCs can be used as a fluorescence probe for detecting Fe ions in living cells.
在本研究中，通过使用柠檬酸/半胱氨酸处理的微晶纤维素的硫酸水解，以简便的方式制备了基于柠檬酸盐的荧光团 (CF) 修饰的纤维素纳米晶体 (CNC)。这些棒状 CNC 的平均长度为 156nm，平均宽度为 7.9nm。由于共轭 CFs 的存在，这些 CNC 表现出典型的荧光特性，包括最大激发波长为 350nm，最大发射波长为 435nm，高量子产率为 83%，以及良好的光稳定性。更重要的是，这些荧光 CNC 对 Fe 离子表现出选择性的猝灭效应；同时，这些 CNC 表现出可忽略的细胞毒性，并被细胞内化。因此，这些 CNC 可用作荧光探针，用于检测活细胞中的 Fe 离子。
