Department of Material Science and Engineering, College of Aviation, Jungwon University, Geosan, Chungbuk 28023, South Korea.
Research Division for Biotechnology, Advanced Radiation Technology Institute (ARTI), Korea Atomic Energy Institute (KEREI), Jeongeup-Si, Jeollabuk-do, 56212, South Korea.
J Nanosci Nanotechnol. 2020 Nov 1;20(11):6943-6953. doi: 10.1166/jnn.2020.18815.
In this work, highly photoluminescent carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) are fabricated by pyrolytic decomposition of piperazine citrate at high pressure and high temperature. Piperazine serves as a hydrolytic, surface-passivating, and N-doping agent, facilitating the formation of a photopolymer. The as-synthesized CNPs, without any surface protection/passivation, exhibit excellent photolumi-nescence and a maximum quantum yield of 84%. The average particle size of the N-doped CNPs is 0.89±0.05 nm. In addition, the N-doped CNPs exhibit uniform diameters and nearly spherical shapes. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results reveal that the CNPs are composed of carbon (64.4 wt%), oxygen (18.5 wt%), and nitrogen (17.1 wt%), indicating the presence of nitrogen-doped and carbon-rich moieties in the CNPs. Notably, the CNPs purified by the procedure developed in this work exhibit more stable luminescence properties than those purified with the conventional dialysis membrane. In addition, the potential application of the CNPs as fluorescent bioimaging probes, which offer a broad dosing window and exhibit multicolor emission, is investigated by directly cultur-ing A549 cells with the CNPs. The results reveal that the CNPs exhibit not only exceptional optical stability, but also outstanding biocompatibility and cell labeling capability. After incubating the A549 cells with CNPs, the CNPs are confined in perinuclear vacuole-similar shapes with a granulated form in cytoplasm preserving the nucleus. Notably, no significant morphological deterioration such as nuclear contraction is detected.
在这项工作中，通过哌嗪柠檬酸盐在高温高压下的热解，制备了具有高光致发光性的碳纳米粒子（CNP）。哌嗪既是水解、表面钝化和 N 掺杂剂，又可促进光聚合的形成。所合成的 CNP 未经任何表面保护/钝化，表现出优异的光致发光性能，最大量子产率为 84%。N 掺杂 CNP 的平均粒径为 0.89±0.05nm。此外，N 掺杂 CNP 具有均匀的直径和近乎球形的形状。X 射线光电子能谱结果表明，CNP 由碳（64.4wt%）、氧（18.5wt%）和氮（17.1wt%）组成，表明 CNP 中存在氮掺杂和富碳部分。值得注意的是，与使用传统透析膜纯化相比，本工作中开发的纯化程序纯化的 CNP 具有更稳定的发光性能。此外，通过直接用 CNP 培养 A549 细胞，研究了 CNP 作为荧光生物成像探针的潜在应用，该探针具有较宽的给药窗口和多色发射。结果表明，CNP 不仅具有出色的光学稳定性，而且还具有出色的生物相容性和细胞标记能力。在用 CNP 孵育 A549 细胞后，CNP 被限制在核周空泡中，在细胞质中呈颗粒状，保持细胞核的形状。值得注意的是，未检测到明显的形态恶化，如核收缩。
