Microwave-Assisted Polyol Synthesis of Gadolinium-Doped Green Luminescent Carbon Dots as a Bimodal Nanoprobe

Abstract

The development of multimodal nanoprobes is highly desired in medical imaging because it integrates the advantages of multiple imaging modes. In this study, the gadolinium-doped green luminescent carbon dots (Gd-CDs) were prepared by the simple one-step microwave-assisted polyol method. The obtained Gd-CDs emitted a unique green photoluminescence with a quantum yield of 5.4%. The Gd-CDs exhibited a low cytotoxicity and could optically label the C6 glioma cells. Meanwhile, the r1 relaxivity of Gd-CDs was measured to be 11.356 mM(-1) s(-1). This high r1 value together with the r2/r1 ratio close to 1 nominates Gd-CDs as an excellent T1 contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging. These Gd-CDs combining two complementary imaging modalities are therefore a promising bimodal nanoprobe in medical imaging for a better diagnosis.

Facile synthesis of gadolinium (III) chelates functionalized carbon quantum dots for fluorescence and magnetic resonance dual-modal bioimaging

“…Recently, carbon quantum 4 dots (CQDs) is becoming a superior framework to construct multi-modal imaging probes, because of their advantages such as green synthesis, the ease of surface functionalization, favorable optical properties, and excellent biocompatibility [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. Bourlinos et al separately use tris(hydroxymethyl)-aminomethane as a carbon source and gadopentetic acid as a Gd(III) source to synthesize Gd-doped CQDs for fluorescence/MR imaging [19].…”

Laser assisted synthesis of carbon nanoparticles with controlled viscosities for printing applications

“…Topdown strategies include electrochemical synthesis [6], laser ablation [7], and arc discharge [8]. Bottom-up strategies include ultrasonic methods [9], microwave assisted synthesis [10], and hydrothermal treatment [11].…”

Carbon Dots with Tunable Photoluminescence Properties

“…[26,27] For synthesizing the carbon dots used for the glucose biosensor, a typical process is as following: in a 20 mL vial, 100 mmol ethylene glycol, 0.5 mmol L-histidine and 0.5 mmol citric acid were added and mixed well. Then the vial was put in a home microwave oven and heated for 20 minutes.…”