Nitrogen and phosphorus co-doped graphene quantum dots for cell imaging

As the newest member of the graphene family, zero-dimension graphene quantum dots(GQDs) exhibit a series of exciting properties including large surface area, low toxicity, high stability and photoluminescence because of the quantum confinement effects and boundary effects, except for the excellent performance of graphene materials, thus attracting extensive attention from scientists in chemistry, physics, material and biology. In recent years, scientists take advantage of the tunable photoluminescence properties of GQDs in the field of bio-imaging to develop them as sensitive fluorescent probes in live cells. The broad application, however, of GQDs has been restricted by the low output of preparation ways. In this report, we introduce a high output GQDs synthesis method by chemical exfoliation from carbonized ATP. In addition, the obtained GQDs are applied as effective bioimaging probes with good biocompatibility.​Master of Science (Biomedical Engineering