Surface grafting of fluorescent polymers on halloysite nanotubes through metal-free light-induced controlled polymerization: Preparation, characterization and biological imaging

Biodistribution of Quantum Dots-Labelled Halloysite Nanotubes: A Caenorhabditis elegans In Vivo Study

Halloysite is a promising building block in nanoarchitectonics of functional materials, especially in the development of novel biomaterials and smart coatings. Understanding the behavior of materials produced using halloysite nanotubes within living organisms is essential for their safe applications. In this study, quantum dots of different compositions were synthesized on the surface of modified clay nanotubes, and the biodistribution of this hybrid material was monitored within Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes. The influence of the modification agent as well as the particles’ composition on physicochemical properties of hybrid nanomaterials was investigated. Several microscopy techniques, such as fluorescence and dark-field microscopy, were compared in monitoring the distribution of nanomaterials in nematodes’ organisms. The effects of QDs-halloysite composites on the nematodes’ life cycle were investigated in vivo. Our fluorescent hybrid probes induced no acute toxic effects in model organisms. The stable fluorescence and low toxicity towards the organisms suggest that the proposed synthesis procedure yields safe nanoarchitectonic materials that will be helpful in monitoring the behavior of nanomaterials inside living cells and organisms.

Rapid and Green Fabrication of Carbon Dots for Cellular Imaging and Anti-Counterfeiting Applications

Carbon dots (CDs) with plenty of favorable properties have been extensively investigated in diverse areas including bioimaging, biomedicine, sensor, energy storage, anti-counterfeiting, photocatalysis, and optoelectronic devices. Herein, a simple, rapid, and green sonochemical-assisted method for fabricating nitrogen-doped CDs has been developed. In this approach, the nitrogen-doped CDs can be obtained through irradiation by intensive ultrasonic waves from ultrasonic probes in 30 min. The achieved CDs exhibit excellent water dispersibility, which can be ascribed to their high functionalization. Importantly, the CDs also demonstrate remarkable fluorescent properties, high photostability, and low cytotoxicity, which can be utilized for multicolor cellular imaging and anti-counterfeiting applications. As far as we know, the sonochemical-assisted method for rapidly synthesizing nitrogen-doped CDs from gelatin has never been reported before. Significantly, the sonochemical-assisted approach to rapidly fabricate CDs is versatile for the facile construction of fluorescent CDs, and the obtained CDs can be potentially used in various areas including bioimaging and anti-counterfeiting.