Prof. Dror Fixler and his group present new poly(ethylenimine)-coated CDs

Science is slowly becoming nanometric. Nanomaterials are receiving more attention, and are being studied to replace traditional, less affective materials, such as fluorophores. In biological research, fluorophores are used to follow target molecules and monitor their bioavailability – that is, how efficiently they enter the cell, which cellular compartment they're transferred to, and the rate of their evacuation. Commonly used fluorescent molecules are, however, expensive, potentially toxic and quite unstable. Carbon-based nanoparticles (carbon dots, CDs) are cheap, non-toxic and have a high fluorescent capability. Moreover, CDs may easily enter living cells and even nuclei. In an article from ACS Applied Bio Materials, Prof. Dror Fixler and his group present new poly(ethylenimine)-coated CDs that, coupled with gold nanoparticles, have an enhanced fluorescent capability, and a positive charge that enables them to bind to DNA. Additionally, those nanoparticles may even detect pH changes in the cell. This development expands the potential applications for CDs.