Red Emissive N–S Co-Doped Carbon Dots for Live Imaging of Tumor Spheroid in the Microfluidic Device Publisher



Ermis E¹ ; Bagheri Z¹ ; Behroodi E² ; Latifi H^{2, 3} ; Rahimifard M⁴ ; Ajorlou E²
Source: Journal of Science: Advanced Materials and Devices Published:2022

Abstract

Here, we present a one-pot, water-based synthesis of red emissive biocompatible carbon dots (R-CDs) for live bioimaging of U87 microglia tumor spheroids produced in a microwell-based microfluidic device. R-CDs were synthesized by the hydrothermal method, using thiourea and para-phenylenediamine as the starting precursors. The mold of the microfluidic platform was produced by a lab-made high-resolution optical 3D printer and CNC micro-milling. The optical and physical properties of synthesized R-CDs were validated by different analytical methods such as fluorescent and absorption spectroscopy, FT-IR, DLS, and TEM. The prepared R-CDs emit red light with a maximum fluorescent wavelength of 584 nm. The prepared R-CD has low cytotoxicity and has been successfully applied for staining the glioblastoma spheroid without any fixation step. Therefore, it is a promising fluorescent probe in live 3D cell imaging. © 2021 The Authors