Glycyrrhizic‐Acid‐Based Carbon Dots with High Antiviral Activity by Multisite Inhibition Mechanisms

With the gradual usage of carbon dots (CDs) in the area of antiviral research, attempts have been stepped up to develop new antiviral CDs with high biocompatibility and antiviral effects. In this study, a kind of highly biocompatible CDs (Gly‐CDs) is synthesized from active ingredient (glycyrrhizic acid) of Chinese herbal medicine by a hydrothermal method. Using the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) as a model, it is found that the Gly‐CDs inhibit PRRSV proliferation by up to 5 orders of viral titers. Detailed investigations reveal that Gly‐CDs can inhibit PRRSV invasion and replication, stimulate antiviral innate immune responses, and inhibit the accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) caused by PRRSV infection. Proteomics analysis demonstrates that Gly‐CDs can stimulate cells to regulate the expression of some host restriction factors, including DDX53 and NOS3, which are directly related to PRRSV proliferation. Moreover, it is found that Gly‐CDs also remarkably suppress the propagation of other viruses, such as pseudorabies virus (PRV) and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), suggesting the broad antiviral activity of Gly‐CDs. The integrated results demonstrate that Gly‐CDs possess extraordinary antiviral activity with multisite inhibition mechanisms, providing a promising candidate for alternative therapy for PRRSV infection.     

木质素碳量子点在防伪包装中的应用研究

目的 探索木质素碳量子点(CQDs)荧光油墨及其书写式标签、CQDs/聚乙烯醇(PVA)复合荧光薄膜在防伪包装中的应用潜力。方法 以木质素为碳源,采用一锅水热法得到未掺杂碳量子点O-CQDs和硫掺杂碳量子点S-CQDs,并以此为荧光填料,以乙醇、乙二醇和丙三醇的混合液为溶剂,制备荧光油墨及其书写式荧光标签和CQDs/PVA复合荧光薄膜,探索其荧光防伪性能。结果 硫掺杂木质素碳量子点油墨MS-CQDs及其书写标签、PVA复合薄膜在可见光下均无色,在365 nm紫外光照下则呈现强烈的淡蓝色荧光。结论 MS-CQDs书写式称量纸荧光标签及其与PVA的复合薄膜均具有良好的荧光性能,在荧光防伪领域具有良好的应用潜力。     

Glowing Graphene Quantum Dots and Carbon Dots: Properties,Syntheses, and Biological Applications

The emerging graphene quantum dots (GQDs) and carbon dots (C‐dots) have gained tremendous attention for their enormous potentials for biomedical applications, owing to their unique and tunable photoluminescence properties, exceptional physicochemical properties, high photostability, biocompatibility, and small size. This article aims to update the latest results in this rapidly evolving field and to provide critical insights to inspire more exciting developments. We comparatively review the properties and synthesis methods of these carbon nanodots and place emphasis on their biological (both fundamental and theranostic) applications.     

Oxidized Quasi‐Carbon Nitride Quantum Dots Inhibit Ice Growth

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs), a type of high‐efficiency but expensive and often unstable biological antifreeze, have stimulated substantial interest in the search for synthetic mimics. However, only a few reported AFP mimics display thermal hysteresis, and general criteria for the design of AFP mimics remain unknown. Herein, oxidized quasi‐carbon nitride quantum dots (OQCNs) are synthesized through an up‐scalable bottom‐up approach. They exhibit thermal‐hysteresis activity, an ice‐crystal shaping effect, and activity on ice‐recrystallization inhibition. In the cryopreservation of sheep red blood cells, OQCNs improve cell recovery to more than twice that obtained by using a commercial cryoprotectant (hydroxyethyl starch) without the addition of any organic solvents. It is shown experimentally that OQCNs preferably bind onto the ice‐crystal surface, which leads to the inhibition of ice‐crystal growth due to the Kelvin effect. Further analysis reveals that the match of the distance between two neighboring tertiary N atoms on OQCNs with the repeated spacing of O atoms along the c‐axis on the primary prism plane of ice lattice is critical for OQCNs to bind preferentially on ice crystals. Here, the application of graphitic carbon nitride derivatives for cryopreservation is reported for the first time.     

Functional Carbon Quantum Dots for Ocular Imaging and Therapeutic Applications

Carbon quantum dots (CDs) are a class of emerging carbonaceous nanomaterials that have received considerable attention due to their excellent fluorescent properties, extremely small size, ability to penetrate cells and tissues, ease of synthesis, surface modification, low cytotoxicity, and superior water dispersion. In light of these properties, CDs are extensively investigated as candidates for bioimaging probes, efficient drug carriers, and disease diagnostics. Functionalized CDs represent a promising therapeutic candidate for ocular diseases. Here, this work reviews the potential use of functionalized CDs in the diagnosis and treatment of eye-related diseases, including the treatment of macular and anterior segment diseases, as well as targeting Aβ amyloids in the retina.     

碳量子点的生物应用:成像、载药与毒性

碳量子点作为一种新型的纳米材料,具有荧光性能优异、尺寸小、毒性低等诸多优势,因而具有良好的应用前景,尤其在生物医学领域有突出的应用价值,近年来引起了科研者们的广泛关注。在介绍碳量子点光学性质的基础上,重点综述了碳量子点在生物成像、诊疗剂应用及碳量子点生物毒性等方面的最新研究进展,并探讨了碳量子点未来的发展方向和前景。     

NCDs/TiO2复合材料的制备及其在太阳光下催化制氢的应用

采用溶剂热法, 以乙腈为溶剂和葡萄糖为原料制备了粒径约4 nm的氮掺杂碳量子点NCDs。当激发波长从330 nm增加到470 nm, NCDs水溶液发射光谱出现红移。随后, 将一定配比的NCDs、TiO₂及5 mL超纯水超声混合60 min, 并在80℃烘箱内陈化24 h, NCDs纳米颗粒成功地复合到TiO₂(TiO₂)表面。该方法有效地拓宽了TiO₂吸收光谱的范围, 并且减少了光生电子和空穴对, 从而增强了TiO₂的光催化制氢性能。实验结果表明: 投料比为m(NCDs):m(TiO₂)=15:85时, 以甲醇为牺牲剂的反应体系光催化制氢效果最好, 该复合材料具有一定的稳定性, 循环三次使用后仍然有一定的光催化制氢性能。     

增强可见光吸收和电荷分离的碳量子点/BiPO4纳米复合材料

通过水热法一步合成了具有增强可见光吸收和电荷分离的碳量子点/BiPO₄纳米复合光催化材料。通过降解罗丹明B染料表征了碳量子点/BiPO₄纳米复合材料的光催化性能。结果表明：在模拟太阳光或可见光的照射下,碳量子点/BiPO₄复合材料的光催化性能均优于单纯的BiPO₄。碳量子点/BiPO₄复合材料光催化性能的提升可归因于碳量子点对可见光的吸收增加了太阳光的利用率,以及碳量子点的电子转移和储存性质提高了材料的电荷分离效率。     

一步法合成特异性pH响应碳量子点及其发光机理研究

本研究利用溶剂热反应, 以柠檬酸为碳源, 甲酰胺和水为混合溶剂, 一步合成氮掺杂碳量子点。研究表明, 所制备的氮掺杂碳量子点具有良好的水溶性和明亮的蓝光发射, 以及典型的依赖于激发光的荧光发射特性。特别的是, 该碳量子点显示出不同于普通碳量子点的、独特的pH响应行为, 除了具有传统的荧光强度随着pH变化的响应行为外, 还表现出在碱性条件下, 产生新的不依赖于激发光的红光发射的性能。通过系统研究碳量子点在不同碱性环境和不同羟基含量溶液中的荧光特性, 结合拉曼光谱、红外、XPS等表征, 分析其化学组成与表面态分子, 探讨了其发光机制, 证实这种特异性pH响应行为是由于在强碱性环境中含有的大量氢氧根结合在碳量子点表面, 从而改变碳量子点的表面状态, 形成新的稳定的发光中心。最后, 通过细胞毒性实验及细胞成像分析表明, 所获得的碳量子点具有低细胞毒性, 并可作为荧光探针应用于细胞成像, 显示其在生物成像领域的潜在应用价值。     

氮掺杂碳量子点的合成、表征及其在细胞成像中的应用

以葡萄糖和甘氨酸为混合碳源,在较低温度下经水热法一步合成了氮掺杂的荧光碳量子点(N-CQDs),然后对氮掺杂碳量子点的形貌、结构、组成、光学性质和细胞毒性进行了表征,最后将其应用于细胞成像。实验结果表明,对碳量子点进行氮掺杂能有效提高其荧光量子产率,其荧光增强是由于表面形成了大量强供电子基团,当葡萄糖和甘氨酸的质量比为2∶1时能获得最高为6.57%荧光量子产率。氮掺杂碳量子点还具有水溶性好、粒度均匀、优异的光致发光性质、低的细胞毒性、多波长成像等诸多优点,有望作为荧光探针应用于细胞成像等领域。     

Self-Assembly of Selenium-Doped Carbon Quantum Dots as Antioxidants for Hepatic Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury Management

Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (HIRI) is a critical complication after liver surgery that negatively affects surgical outcomes of patients with the end-stage liver-related disease. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are responsible for the development of ischemia-reperfusion injury and eventually lead to hepatic dysfunction. Selenium-doped carbon quantum dots (Se-CQDs) with an excellent redox-responsive property can effectively scavenge ROS and protect cells from oxidation. However, the accumulation of Se-CQDs in the liver is extremely low. To address this concern, the fabrication of Se-CQDs-lecithin nanoparticles (Se-LEC NPs) is developed through self-assembly mainly driven by the noncovalent interactions. Lecithin acting as the self-assembly building block also makes a pivotal contribution to the therapeutic performance of Se-LEC NPs due to its capability to react with ROS. The fabricated Se-LEC NPs largely accumulate in the liver, effectively scavenge ROS and inhibit the release of inflammatory cytokines, thus exerting beneficial therapeutic efficacy on HIRI. This work may open a new avenue for the design of self-assembled Se-CQDs NPs for the treatment of HIRI and other ROS-related diseases.     

稳定剂对水相制备CdTe量子点的荧光性能和细胞毒性影响研究

用巯基乙酸(TGA)、半胱氨酸(L-Cys)和谷胱甘肽(GSH)这三种巯基稳定剂在水相中制备了CdTe量子点(QDs).红外光谱(FTIR)分析结果表明,三种稳定剂都成功地利用Cd2+与巯基之间的配位与QDs相结合并起到保护及稳定的作用.利用荧光光谱对不同QDs的荧光性能进行了研究,结果表明当采用GSH作为稳定剂时,QDs的生长速率较快,且最大发射波长能够达到约680nm;L-Cys-CdTe的生长速率次之,也能生成具有较大发射波长的QDs;TGA-CdTe的生长速率最慢,且最大发射波长只能达到约620nm,但是其荧光强度较高,适于制备对荧光强度要求较高的QDs.通过MTT(噻唑蓝)比色法对细胞存活率进行测定,同时利用显微镜对细胞形貌进行观察,结果表明各量子点都具有一定的细胞毒性,但TGA-QDs对细胞的伤害作用更大,以20μg/mL的浓度对细胞培养24h后,细胞存活率只有52.6%.     

Smart Utilization of Carbon Dots in Semiconductor Photocatalysis

Efficient capture of solar energy will be critical to meeting the energy needs of the future. Semiconductor photocatalysis is expected to make an important contribution in this regard, delivering both energy carriers (especially H₂) and valuable chemical feedstocks under direct sunlight. Over the past few years, carbon dots (CDs) have emerged as a promising new class of metal‐free photocatalyst, displaying semiconductor‐like photoelectric properties and showing excellent performance in a wide variety of photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic applications owing to their ease of synthesis, unique structure, adjustable composition, ease of surface functionalization, outstanding electron‐transfer efficiency and tunable light‐harvesting range (from deep UV to the near‐infrared). Here, recent advances in the rational design of CDs‐based photocatalysts are highlighted and their applications in photocatalytic environmental remediation, water splitting into hydrogen, CO₂ reduction, and organic synthesis are discussed.     

Carbon Dots Strongly Immobilized onto Carbon Nanohorns as Non-Metal Heterostructure with High Electrocatalytic Activity towards Protons Reduction in Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Highly performing, non-metal inexpensive electrocatalysts for the production of hydrogen via electrochemical water splitting are called for the replacement of current platinum-based ones. In order to speed up the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution, abundant active sites but also efficient charge transfer is needed. In this context, 0D carbon dots (CDs) with large specific surface area, low cost, high conductivity, and rich functional groups emerge as promising non-metal electrocatalysts. Additionally, the use of conductive substrates provides an effective strategy to boost their electrocatalytic performance. Herein, the unique 3D superstructure of carbon nanohorns (CNHs), as well as without any metal content in their structure, is used to provide a conductive support of high porosity, large specific surface area, and good electrical conductivity, for the in situ growth and immobilization of CDs, via a simple hydrothermal method. The direct contact of CDs with the 3D conductive network of CNHs promotes charge transfer, accelerating hydrogen evolution. The all-carbon non-metal CDs/CNHs nanoensembleshows an onset potential close to the one of Pt/C, low charge transfer resistance, and excellent stability.     

Susceptible Surface Sulfide Regulates Catalytic Activity of CdSe Quantum Dots for Hydrogen Photogeneration

Semiconducting quantum dots (QDs) have recently triggered a huge interest in constructing efficient hydrogen production systems. It is well established that a large fraction of surface atoms of QDs need ligands to stabilize and avoid them from aggregating. However, the influence of the surface property of QDs on photocatalysis is rather elusive. Here, the surface regulation of CdSe QDs is investigated by surface sulfide ions (S^2?) for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Structural and spectroscopic study shows that with gradual addition of S^2?, S^2? first grows into the lattice and later works as ligands on the surface of CdSe QDs. In‐depth transient spectroscopy reveals that the initial lattice S^2? accelerates electron transfer from QDs to cocatalyst, and the following ligand S^2? mainly facilitates hole transfer from QDs to the sacrificial agent. As a result, a turnover frequency (TOF) of 7950 h^?1 can be achieved by the S^2? modified CdSe QDs, fourfold higher than that of original mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) capped CdSe QDs. Clearly, the simple surface S^2? modification of QDs greatly increases the photocatalytic efficiency, which provides subtle methods to design new QD material for advanced photocatalysis.     

53% Efficient Red Emissive Carbon Quantum Dots for High Color Rendering and Stable Warm White‐Light‐Emitting Diodes

Red emissive carbon quantum dots (R‐CQDs) with quantum yield of 53% is successfully prepared. An ultraviolet (UV)‐pumped CQD phosphors‐based warm white light‐emitting diode (WLED) is realized for the first time and achieves a color rendering index of 97. This work provides a new avenue for the exploration of low cost, environment‐friendly, and high‐performance CQD phosphors‐based warm WLEDs.