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Fluorescent nanoparticles from starch: Facile preparation, tunable luminescence and bioimaging

2015; Elsevier BV; Volume: 121; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.carbpol.2014.12.047

1879-1344

Meiying Liu, Xiqi Zhang, Bin Yang, Zhan Li, Fengjie Deng, Yang Yang, Xiaoyong Zhang, Yen Wei,

Conducting polymers and applications

Fluorescent organic nanoparticles (FONs) based on carbohydrate polymers were prepared through one-pot hydrothermal treatment of starch in the presence of polyethyleneimine. These FONs (named as PEI-Starch FONs) were characterized by a series of techniques including UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy, fluorescent spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Results showed that the size of PEI-Starch FONs is 10–30 nm. The PEI-Starch FONs exhibited high water dispersibility because of the existence of hydrophilic functional groups on their surface. After excited with different wavelength, PEI-Starch FONs emitted strong and excitation-dependent fluorescence. To evaluate their potential for biomedical applications, biocompatibility and cell uptake behavior of PEI-Starch FONs were further investigated. We demonstrated that PEI-Starch FONs are biocompatible with cells and can be easily internalized by cells within 3 h. Taken together, novel FONs have been prepared via a simple and scalable hydrothermal method using starch and polyethyleneimine as precursors. These PEI-Starch FONs showed excellent fluorescence properties, high water dispersibility and good biocompatibility, making them highly potential for various biomedical applications.