Yellow Carbon Dots (YC-Dots)
Yellow Carbon Dots
(YC-Dots)
YC-Dots are derived from citric acid and 1,2-phenylenediamine prepared using a bottom-up approach mediated by ultrasonication. YC-Dots are highly biocompatible and have excitation-independent photoluminescence (max emission at 575 nm when excited at 400 nm). Morphology studies, including atomic force (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), reveal that Y-CDs are spherical nanoparticles with a mean diameter of 3 nm.
Analytical spectroscopic techniques show that YC-Dots contain abundant functional groups such as carboxyl, amine, and hydroxyl groups on the surface. In addition, Y-CDs possess a high carbon content of 94%, which is rarely reported in other C-Dot species. YC-Dots have shown amphiphilicity, which allows them to cross various cell membranes and biological barriers such as the blood-brain barrier (BBB) for drug delivery.
Y-CDs have been used in research studies to enter the central nervous system (CNS) (in vivo, zebrafish model) while significantly inhibiting the expression of amyloid precursor protein (APP) and beta-amyloid (Aβ) inside cells (in vitro), which is of great significance towards the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Moreover, when YC-Dots were conjugated with small molecules, their amphiphilicity and capability to cross the BBB were not affected. Thus, YC-Dots have proved to be a promising versatile drug nanocarrier.
Although YC-Dots are more likely to be used in biological applications, the bright yellow photoluminescence drives the YC-Dots to use in day-to-day applications such as glow in dark parties.
Safety Information & Specifications
For the Material Safety Data Sheet for Yellow Carbon Dots, click here.
References
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