Three-minute synthesis of sp³ nanocrystalline carbon dots as non-toxic fluorescent platforms for intracellular delivery

摘要

A one-pot, three-minute, gram-scale synthesis of novel sp-nanocrystalline, water-soluble, and fluorescent carbon dots (FCDs), from simple and cheap sugar starting materials is described. Mechanism studies showed that NH-FCD formation proceeds via a crucial imine intermediate derived from reaction between a sugar hemiacetal and an amine. Moreover, we successfully demonstrate the utility of lactose functionalized FCDots (Lac-FCDots) as non-toxic fluorescent intracellular delivery vehicles.