Ultrafine Highly Magnetic Fluorescent γ-Fe₂O₃/NCD Nanocomposites for Neuronal Manipulations

Abstract

In this work, we describe a low-cost, two-step synthesis of composites of nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (NCDs) with γ-Fe2O3 (NCDs/γ-Fe2O3), which is based on a hydrothermal cum co-precipitation method. The product is a fine powder of particles having an average diameter of 9 ± 3 nm. The physical and chemical properties of NCDs/γ-Fe2O3 were studied, as well as the superconducting quantum interference device and Mossbauer analysis of the magnetic properties of these nanocomposites. The interaction of NCDs/γ-Fe2O3 nanocomposites with neuron-like cells was examined, showing efficient uptake and low toxicity. Our research demonstrates the use of the nanocomposites for imaging and for controlling the cellular motility. The NCDs/γ-Fe2O3 nanocomposites are promising because of their biocompatibility, photostability, and potential selective affinity, paving the way for multifunctional biomedical applications.

One‐Pot Hydrothermal Synthesis of Elements (B, N, P)‐Doped Fluorescent Carbon Dots for Cell Labelling, Differentiation and Outgrowth of Neuronal Cells

“…Corresponding results presented in Table for the prepared CDs and all prepared E@CDs samples. The similar results also reported widely, and possible reasons explained somewhere else ,,,,…”

Contribution of Ex-Situ and In-Situ X-ray Grazing Incidence Scattering Techniques to the Understanding of Quantum Dot Self-Assembly: A Review

“…Iron oxide nanocrystals are well studied materials. They have been shown to be useful for photo–electro–chemical (PEC) water splitting systems, [ 58 ] high performance Li-ion batteries when embedded in nitrogen-doped carbon networks, [ 59 ] neuronal manipulations by using a nanocomposite of gamma Fe 2 O 3 /Nitrogen doped carbon dots, [ 60 ] and also for selective fluorescence sensing of Hg(II) by using gamma Fe 2 O 3 colloidal quantum dots as nanoprobes [ 61 ]. Most importantly, ordered assemblies of these particles are required for optoelectronic device applications such as in spin valves [ 62 ] and for photonic devices [ 63 ], which both include self-assembled 1D arrays or 2D and 3D structures.…”

Synthesis of Doped/Hybrid Carbon Dots and Their Biomedical Application

“…In general, doped CDs are composed of sp 2 hybridized conjugated carbon as the core and a shell of organic molecules with functional groups such as COOH, C=O, NH, OH, C-O-C, C-N, SH, or polymer aggregates [ 1 , 3 ]. Moreover, doped CDs are also considered the newest form of zero-dimensional carbon with less than 10 nm diameter and excellent fluorescent properties [ 12 , 13 , 14 ]. CDs have attracted considerable attention since their discovery in 2006 largely due to their unique fluorescence properties.…”

“…According to the top-down approach, CDs are prepared by chemical and physical methods, including laser ablation/passivation, chemical oxidation, and electrochemical synthesis [ 32 ]. In the bottom-up approach, CDs are made from molecular precursors using laser ablation [ 33 ], pyrolysis [ 34 ], combustion [ 34 ], hydrothermal process [ 15 ], microwave [ 35 , 36 ], precipitation method [ 13 ] and sonication [ 37 ]. In contrast to bottom-up methods, top-down methods are not preferred because they require longer synthesis times, higher costs, and harsh environmental conditions [ 4 ].…”