Comparison of Synthetic Pathways for Obtaining Fluorescent Nanomaterials Based on Halloysite and Carbon Dots for Potential Biological Sensing
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Massaro, Marina; Cinà, Giuseppe; Cavallaro, Giuseppe; Lazzara, Giuseppe; Silvestri, Alessandro; de Melo Barbosa, Raquel; Sánchez Espejo, Rita; Viseras Iborra, César Antonio; Notarbartolo, Monica; Riela, SerenaEditorial
MDPI
Materia
halloysite; carbon dots fluorescent sensors
Date
2024-05-14Referencia bibliográfica
Massaro, M. et. al. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25, 5370. [https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25105370]
Abstract
Recently, fluorescent sensors have gained considerable attention due to their high sensitivity,
low cost and noninvasiveness. Among the different materials that can be used for this purpose,
carbon dots (CDs) represent valuable candidates for applications in sensing. These, indeed, are
easily synthesized, show high quantum yield and are highly biocompatible. However, it was
pointed out that the photoluminescence properties of these nanomaterials are strictly dependent
on the synthetic and purification methods adopted. The presence of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs),
a natural, low cost and biocompatible clay mineral, has been found to be efficient in obtaining
small and highly monodispersed CDs without long and tedious purification techniques. Herein, we
report the comparison of synthetic pathways for obtaining halloysite-N-doped CDs (HNTs-NCDs)
that could be used in biological sensing. One was based on the synthesis of N-doped CDs by a
bottom-up approach on HNTs’ surface by a MW pyrolysis process; the other one was based on
the post-modification of pristine N-doped CDs with halloysite derivatives. The evaluation of the
best synthetic route was performed by different physico-chemical techniques. It was found that
the bottom-up approach led to the formation of N-doped CDs with different functional groups
onto the HNTs’ surface. This evidence was also translated in the different fluorescence quantum
yields and the existence of several functional groups in the obtained materials was investigated by
potentiometric titrations. Furthermore, the ability of the synthesized nanomaterials as sensors for
Fe3+ ions detection was assessed by spectroscopic measurements, and the cellular uptake was verified
by confocal/fluorescence microscopies as well.