Green synthesis of fluorescent carbon dots from spices for in vitro imaging and tumour cell growth inhibition

• Nagamalai Vasimalai,
• Vânia Vilas-Boas,
• Juan Gallo,
• María de Fátima Cerqueira,
• Mario Menéndez-Miranda,
• José Manuel Costa-Fernández,
• Lorena Diéguez,
• Begoña Espiña and
• María Teresa Fernández-Argüelles

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 530–544, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.51

• mentioned spice-derived C-dots was evaluated in vitro in human glioblastoma cells (LN-229 cancer cell line) and in human kidney cells (HK-2 non-cancerous cell line). Bioimaging and viability studies were performed with different C-dot concentrations from 0.1 to 2 mg·mL−1, exhibiting a higher uptake of C

• surface of the C-dots might be responsible for the selective cytotoxicity, as suggested by the presence of piperine in the surface of black pepper C-dots analysed by ESI-QTOF-MS. Keywords: bioimaging; carbon quantum dots; fluorescence; spices; Introduction Recent developments in nanotechnology have led

• , multiplexing capabilities, cost-effectiveness and ease of use [1]. Although inorganic semiconductor quantum dots are the most widely studied fluorescent nanoparticles in bioimaging, biosensing and drug delivery applications, carbon-based ultra-small nanoparticles including carbon quantum dots (C-dots) and

Sugarcane juice derived carbon dot–graphitic carbon nitride composites for bisphenol A degradation under sunlight irradiation

• Lan Ching Sim,
• Jing Lin Wong,
• Chen Hong Hak,
• Jun Yan Tai,
• Kah Hon Leong and
• Pichiah Saravanan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 353–363, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.35

• drawn the attention of researchers. Such green CDs are widely applied in bioimaging [6][12], sensing [13] and solar cells [14]. However, the obtained CDs showed superior water solubility, limiting their down-to-earth applicability for photocatalysis in aqueous solution. It is well-known that the organic

Co-reductive fabrication of carbon nanodots with high quantum yield for bioimaging of bacteria

• Jiajun Wang,
• Xia Liu,
• Gesmi Milcovich,
• Tzu-Yu Chen,
• Edel Durack,
• Sarah Mallen,
• Yongming Ruan,
• Xuexiang Weng and
• Sarah P. Hudson

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 137–145, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.16

• in bioimaging thanks to their low cytotoxicity. Keywords: bioimaging; carbon nanodots; collaborative reduction; hydrothermal; Introduction Over recent years, carbon nanomaterials have remarkably influenced the growth of a wide range of fields, including electronics, photonics, energy, catalysis and

• water, low photobleaching and low cytotoxicity. They show great potential for bioimaging, photocatalysis, energy conversion, fluorescent ink and sensing applications [1][2][3]. In a bioimaging application perspective, the detection of bacteria by microscopic visualization is an essential benchmark

• for bioimaging purposes thanks to their fluorescent features. In this context, the quantum yield (QY) is one of the most important features for C-dot performance. Although, at present, the actual mechanism of the photoluminescence of C-dots is still an open debate among researchers [6][7][8

Carbon nano-onions as fluorescent on/off modulated nanoprobes for diagnostics

• Stefania Lettieri,
• Marta d’Amora,
• Adalberto Camisasca,
• Alberto Diaspro and
• Silvia Giordani

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1878–1888, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.188

• 10.3762/bjnano.8.188 Abstract Multishell fullerenes, known as carbon nano-onions (CNOs), have emerged as a platform for bioimaging because of their cell-penetration properties and minimal systemic toxicity. Here, we describe the covalent functionalization of CNOs with a π-extended distyryl-substituted

Synthesis and functionalization of NaGdF₄:Yb,Er@NaGdF₄ core–shell nanoparticles for possible application as multimodal contrast agents

• Dovile Baziulyte-Paulaviciene,
• Vitalijus Karabanovas,
• Marius Stasys,
• Greta Jarockyte,
• Vilius Poderys,
• Simas Sakirzanovas and
• Ricardas Rotomskis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1815–1824, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.183

• contrast probe for in vivo bioimaging. Keywords: cancer theranostics; core–shell structure; luminescence; multimodal; nanoparticles; upconverting nanoparticles; upconversion; Introduction Lanthanide-doped multimodal upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs), which can convert near-infrared (NIR) radiation into

• stability, high resistance to photobleaching, and long emission lifetime [2][3]. As a unique class of luminescent phosphors, UCNPs show great promise in a broad range of applications ranging from bioimaging, biosensors, drug delivery, to photodynamic therapy [4][5][6][7][8]. Through combination with

Uptake and intracellular accumulation of diamond nanoparticles – a metabolic and cytotoxic study

• Antonín Brož,
• Lucie Bačáková,
• Pavla Štenclová,
• Alexander Kromka and
• Štěpán Potocký

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1649–1657, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.165

• in its nanostructured forms (nanoparticles, nanostructured diamond films and composite scaffolds) [9]. ND particles can act in the single particle form (bioimaging and biosensing) [10][11], can serve as a stable delivery platform for therapeutic antibodies [12], or can be incorporated into various

• bioimaging techniques [15][16] and for nanoscale sensing [17][18]. There are various types of NDs, but two main groups can be identified on the basis of their synthesis procedure. The first group of NDs are those synthesized by the detonation method [19], where even sub-nanometer detonation nanodiamond

Luminescent supramolecular hydrogels from a tripeptide and nitrogen-doped carbon nanodots

• Maria C. Cringoli,
• Slavko Kralj,
• Marina Kurbasic,
• Massimo Urban and
• Silvia Marchesan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1553–1562, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.157

• . Their properties allow them to have an important impact in biological and environmental applications as alternatives to traditional, toxic, semiconductor-based quantum dots (QDs). They can be employed as biosensors in bioimaging, drug delivery, and in the photoreduction of metals, since they have

Bright fluorescent silica-nanoparticle probes for high-resolution STED and confocal microscopy

• Isabella Tavernaro,
• Christian Cavelius,
• Henrike Peuschel and
• Annette Kraegeloh

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1283–1296, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.130

• depletion (STED) microscopy. Our approach allows for a step-by-step formation of dye-doped silica nanoparticles in the form of dye-incorporated spheres, which can be used as versatile fluorescent probes in confocal and STED imaging. Keywords: bioimaging; confocal microscopy; multistep synthesis approach

• drug carriers [3][4][5], as transfection agents [6][7], for cancer treatment by local hyperthermia [8][9], for labelling [10][11] and for bioimaging [12][13][14]. The detection of cell-associated and internalised nanoparticles and the analysis of their interactions with extracellular or subcellular

Dispersion of single-wall carbon nanotubes with supramolecular Congo red – properties of the complexes and mechanism of the interaction

• Anna Jagusiak,
• Barbara Piekarska,
• Tomasz Pańczyk,
• Małgorzata Jemioła-Rzemińska,
• Elżbieta Bielańska,
• Barbara Stopa,
• Grzegorz Zemanek,
• Janina Rybarska,
• Irena Roterman and
• Leszek Konieczny

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 636–648, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.68

• ; Introduction Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) present enormous application potential in many areas of chemistry, technology and medicine and are currently one of the most intensely studied nanomaterials. Biomedical use of CNTs includes biosensors [1], bioimaging [2][3], drug delivery [4][5][6][7][8][9] and tissue

Facile fabrication of luminescent organic dots by thermolysis of citric acid in urea melt, and their use for cell staining and polyelectrolyte microcapsule labelling

• Nadezhda M. Zholobak,
• Anton L. Popov,
• Alexander B. Shcherbakov,
• Nelly R. Popova,
• Mykhailo M. Guzyk,
• Valeriy P. Antonovich,
• Alla V. Yegorova,
• Yuliya V. Scrypynets,
• Inna I. Leonenko,
• Alexander Ye. Baranchikov and
• Vladimir K. Ivanov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1905–1917, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.182

• solubility, outstanding biocompatibility, resistance to photobleaching, chemical inertness and excellent suitability for biological applications (one- and multiphoton bioimaging [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16], biosensorics [9][10][11][12][17] and biomolecules/drug delivery [12][13][15]). Since the discovery

Influence of hydrothermal synthesis parameters on the properties of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles

• Sylwia Kuśnieruk,
• Jacek Wojnarowicz,
• Agnieszka Chodara,
• Tadeusz Chudoba,
• Stanislaw Gierlotka and
• Witold Lojkowski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1586–1601, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.153

• capacity to deliver a payload to cells and tissues makes nano-HAp a strong candidate to enhance the current effectiveness of disease diagnosis, which was already proved by applying nanoparticles to bioimaging and therapy [3][12]. HAp-based compounds and substances can also play a significant role in waste

Multiwalled carbon nanotube hybrids as MRI contrast agents

• Nikodem Kuźnik and
• Mateusz M. Tomczyk

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1086–1103, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.102

• investigations on applications of carbon nanomaterials in bioimaging [4][5][6][7][8][9], e.g., graphene, graphite oxide with manganese residues [10], gadolinium anchored on fullerenes [11], and nanodiamonds [12]. Sitharaman’s and Wilson’s discoveries of gadonanotubes, such as ultrashort single-wall carbon

Photocurrent generation in carbon nanotube/cubic-phase HfO₂ nanoparticle hybrid nanocomposites

• Protima Rauwel,
• Augustinas Galeckas,
• Martin Salumaa,
• Frédérique Ducroquet and
• Erwan Rauwel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1075–1085, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.101

• combination of nanoparticles with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has proven to greatly broaden the area of potential applications, such as gas sensors [1][2], solar cells [3][4], bioimaging [5] and IR detectors [6], most of which require efficient charge transfer from the nanoparticle to the CNT and charge

Facile synthesis of water-soluble carbon nano-onions under alkaline conditions

• Gaber Hashem Gaber Ahmed,
• Rosana Badía Laíño,
• Josefa Angela García Calzón and
• Marta Elena Díaz García

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 758–766, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.67

• ) properties, such as broad excitation spectra, tunable emission wavelength and stable PL, high stability against photobleaching, C-dots are attracting considerable attention in analytical sensing, bioimaging, photo-reduction of metals and biomedical applications [2][3][4][5][6]. C-dots may be

Silica-coated upconversion lanthanide nanoparticles: The effect of crystal design on morphology, structure and optical properties

• Uliana Kostiv,
• Miroslav Šlouf,
• Hana Macková,
• Alexander Zhigunov,
• Hana Engstová,
• Katarína Smolková,
• Petr Ježek and
• Daniel Horák

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2290–2299, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.235

• tracking [8], bioimaging [9] and photodynamic therapy [10]. Lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles emit visible light upon excitation by near-IR light (NIR). Compared with organic dyes and semiconductor quantum dots, upconversion nanoparticles have attractive chemical and optical properties, as well

Multifunctional layered magnetic composites

• Maria Siglreitmeier,
• Baohu Wu,
• Tina Kollmann,
• Martin Neubauer,
• Gergely Nagy,
• Dietmar Schwahn,
• Vitaliy Pipich,
• Damien Faivre,
• Dirk Zahn,
• Andreas Fery and
• Helmut Cölfen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 134–148, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.13

• . Laptev (University of Konstanz) for performing the SQUID measurements, Dr. Joachim Hentschel and Lauretta Nejedli for microtomy services (Electron Microscopy Center at the University of Konstanz). Fluorescence microscopy images were acquired at the Bioimaging Center at the University of Konstanz (BIC

Synthesis of boron nitride nanotubes and their applications

• Saban Kalay,
• Zehra Yilmaz,
• Ozlem Sen,
• Melis Emanet,
• Emine Kazanc and
• Mustafa Çulha

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 84–102, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.9

• suggested that the Ni-encapsulated BNNTs could be used in clinical diagnostics and bioimaging applications due to their TRPL properties [91]. Hydrogen storage in BNNTs Hydrogen is considered to be an exceptional energy source material since it produces clean energy in high yield. Although there are several

Inorganic Janus particles for biomedical applications

• Isabel Schick,
• Steffen Lorenz,
• Dominik Gehrig,
• Stefan Tenzer,
• Wiebke Storck,
• Karl Fischer,
• Dennis Strand,
• Frédéric Laquai and
• Wolfgang Tremel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2346–2362, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.244

• activity, the magnetic properties, as well as their biocompatibility and interaction with human blood serum. Keywords: bioimaging (CT; MRI; Multi-photon); hetero-nanoparticles; Janus particles; protein corona; synthesis; Introduction In the recent years, there has been an increasing interest in design

• particles used for catalysis [52][63][64], drug delivery [65], bimodal bioimaging [36][66][67][68], and biomedical applications [69][70] such as cancer treatment [71] are dumbbell-like Au@Fe3O4 nanoparticles. As no ternary Au-Fe-O phase or a gold oxide is present under the experimental conditions, there is

• Fe3O4, MnFe2O4, as well as MnO [7][85][86][87]. Inspired by the progress for single component nanoparticles in the field of bioimaging, hetero-structured nanoparticles, such as Au@Fe3O4, moved into focus for future use as multimodal contrast agents [88][89]. For instance, PEG-functionalized Au@MnO

Carbon-based smart nanomaterials in biomedicine and neuroengineering

• Antonina M. Monaco and
• Michele Giugliano

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1849–1863, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.196

• include drug delivery [65][66], implants coating [67] and bioimaging [68]. Similarly to the use of CNTs, the first consideration in biological applications is the biocompatibility of NDs. Diamond, in its bulk form, is chemically inert. However, because surface chemistry is predominant at the nanoscale

Current state of laser synthesis of metal and alloy nanoparticles as ligand-free reference materials for nano-toxicological assays

• Christoph Rehbock,
• Jurij Jakobi,
• Lisa Gamrad,
• Selina van der Meer,
• Daniela Tiedemann,
• Ulrike Taylor,
• Wilfried Kues,
• Detlef Rath and
• Stephan Barcikowski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1523–1541, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.165

• approach is centrifugation at varying speed, yielding different size fractions [55]. This method was successfully applied in biological studies dealing with size dependent cellular uptake [56] and bioimaging [57] of gold nanoparticles. However, a rather labour-intensive preparation protocol as well as the

• distributions are shown in Figure 3C. As to the enormous potential of Au-SMS, e.g., in bioimaging, the toxicological potential of these materials needs to be assessed and PLML preceeded by electrolyte-originated aggregation offers an excellent opportunity to study these effects without side effects by

Optimizing the synthesis of CdS/ZnS core/shell semiconductor nanocrystals for bioimaging applications

• Li-wei Liu,
• Si-yi Hu,
• Ying Pan,
• Jia-qi Zhang,
• Yue-shu Feng and
• Xi-he Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 919–926, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.105

• and obstetrics, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, 130033, China 10.3762/bjnano.5.105 Abstract In this study, we report on CdS/ZnS nanocrystals as a luminescence probe for bioimaging applications. CdS nanocrystals capped with a ZnS shell had enhanced luminescence

• ZnS protective shell not only enhances the brightness of the QDs but also improves their stability in a biological environment. An in-vivo imaging study showed that F127-CdS/ZnS micelles had strong luminescence. These results suggest that these nanoparticles have significant advantages for bioimaging

• applications and may offer a new direction for the early detection of cancer in humans. Keywords: bioimaging; CdS/ZnS quantum dots; Pluronic F127; Introduction Over the past decade, the use of semiconductor nanocrystals or quantum dots (QDs) has developed remarkably due to their unique features. Compared to

Nanostructure sensitization of transition metal oxides for visible-light photocatalysis

• Hongjun Chen and
• Lianzhou Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 696–710, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.82

• their easy fabrication methods in addition to their unique properties carbon nanodots are a versatile material candidate for bioimaging, sensors, catalysis and photovoltaic devices [107][108][109][110]. There are also some reviews covering the synthetic methods, physical and chemical properties, and

A visible-light-driven composite photocatalyst of TiO₂ nanotube arrays and graphene quantum dots

• Donald K. L. Chan,
• Po Ling Cheung and
• Jimmy C. Yu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 689–695, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.81

• confinement and edge effects, GQDs possess a size-dependent band gap and other interesting properties [29][30]. In recent years, GQDs have been explored for their potential applications in bioimaging [31], sensing [32], photovoltaics [33][34]. Besides, they have been coupled with TiO2 nanoparticles to achieve

In vitro toxicity and bioimaging studies of gold nanorods formulations coated with biofunctional thiol-PEG molecules and Pluronic block copolymers

• Tianxun Gong,
• Douglas Goh,
• Malini Olivo and
• Ken-Tye Yong

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 546–553, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.64

• Tianxun Gong Douglas Goh Malini Olivo Ken-Tye Yong Bio-Optical Imaging Group, Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC), Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR), 11 Biopolis Way, 138667 Singapore School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 639798

• AuNRs promising candidates for bioimaging and biosensors [3][4]. AuNRs possess two SPR absorption peaks. One peak is located at the shorter wavelength (transverse plasmon peak) where light is transmitted across the transverse direction. The second peak can be found at the longer wavelength (longitudinal

The oriented and patterned growth of fluorescent metal–organic frameworks onto functionalized surfaces

• Jinliang Zhuang,
• Jasmin Friedel and
• Andreas Terfort

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 570–578, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.66

• MOFs have attracted great attention for sensing purposes, but also for bioimaging and biomedical applications, such as nitric oxide (NO) storage and drug delivery [9]. Several strategies have been developed to obtain control over the size and morphology of the MOF crystals, such as microwave heating