Fabrication of Silicon Carbide Quantum Dots via Chemical-Etching Approach and Fluorescent Imaging for Living Cells

Yuepeng Song, Dongsheng Gao, Hyoung Seop Kim, Cuiqin Qu, Jie Kang, Yanmin Zhu, Ziping Liu, Jing Guo, Lingfeng Xu, Chong Soo Lee

College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, China.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Korea.
Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Horticultural Machineries and Equipments, Mechanical and Electronic Engineering College, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, China.
Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Horticultural Machineries and Equipments, Mechanical and Electronic Engineering College, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, China; College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, China; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Korea.
Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Horticultural Machineries and Equipments, Mechanical and Electronic Engineering College, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, China; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Korea.
State Grid of China Technology College, Tai’an, China.

DOI: 10.4236/msa.2014.54022                

Abstract

A simple chemical-etching approach is used to prepare the silicon carbide quantum dots (QDs). The raw materials of silicon carbide (SiC) with homogeneous nanoparticles fabricated via self-propagating combustion synthesis are corroded in mixture etchants of nitric and hydrofluoric acid. After sonication and chromatography in the ultra-gravity field for the etched products, aqueous solution with QDs can be obtained. The microstructure evolution of raw particles and optical properties of QDs were measured. Different organophilic groups on the surface like carboxyl, oxygroup, and hyfroxy were produced in the process of etching. Fluorescent labeling and imaging for living cells of Aureobasidium pulluans were investigated. The results indicated that SiC QDs were not cytotoxic and could stably label due to the conjugation between organophilic groups of QDs and specific protein of cells, it can be utilized for fluorescent imaging and tracking cells with in vivo and long-term-distance. Moreover, mechanism and specificity of mark were also analyzed.

Keywords

Silicon Carbide Quantum Dots (QDs); Fluorescent Imaging; Living Cells; Aureobasidium pulluans

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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