Nitrogen-doped carbon dots as multifunctional fluorescent probes

Highly fluorescent nitrogen-doped carbon dots (NCDs) were prepared through the hydrothermal carbonization of citric acid and ammonium acetate. The resulting NCDs were quasi-spherical particles with an average diameter of approximately 2.1 nm. They exhibited excellent photoluminescent properties and had favorable solubility in water. Furthermore, the NCDs had low cytotoxicity and were readily integrated with cytoplasm. This makes them particularly suitable for multicolor bioimaging. Most importantly, NCDs internalized by cancer cells can be detected at four channels simultaneously with flow cytometry, which further demonstrates that the NCDs can be used as multifunctional fluorescent probes for biomedical applications.