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. 2009 Aug 19;131(32):11308-9.
doi: 10.1021/ja904843x.

Carbon dots for optical imaging in vivo

Sheng-Tao Yang  1 , Li Cao, Pengju G Luo, Fushen Lu, Xin Wang, Haifang Wang, Mohammed J Meziani, Yuanfang Liu, Gang Qi, Ya-Ping Sun
Affiliations

Carbon dots for optical imaging in vivo

Sheng-Tao Yang et al. J Am Chem Soc. .

Abstract

It was found and recently reported that small carbon nanoparticles can be surface-passivated by organic or biomolecules to become strongly fluorescent. These fluorescent carbon nanoparticles, dubbed "carbon dots", can be successfully used for in vitro cell imaging with both one- and two-photon excitations, as already demonstrated in the literature. Here we report the first study using carbon dots for optical imaging in live mice. The results suggest that the carbon dots remain strongly fluorescent in vivo, which, coupled with their biocompatibility and nontoxic characteristics, might offer great potential for imaging and related biomedical applications.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
AFM topography images of C-Dots (left) and CZns-Dots (right) on mica, with the insets showing the corresponding HR-TEM images of individual dots.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Subcutaneous injection: (a) bright field, (b,d) as-detected fluorescence (excitation/emission wavelengths indicated), and (c,e) color-coded images (ImageJ from NIH).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Interdermal injection: (a) bright field, (b) as-detected fluorescence, and (c) color-coded images. Insets: the dissected (in the circled area) axillary lymph node (LN).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Intravenous injection: (a) bright field, (b) as-detected fluorescence (Bl: bladder and Ur: urine), and (c) color-coded images. The same order for the images of the dissected kidneys (lower left) and liver (lower right).
Scheme 1
Scheme 1
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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