Folic Acid-conjugated nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots as fluorescent diagnostic material for MCF-7 cells

摘要： This paper reports the preparation and application of folic acid-conjugated nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dot as a fluorescent diagnostic material for MCF-7 cells of breast cancer. Nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (N-GQD) were prepared by hydrothermal method using citric acid as carbon source and diethylamine as nitrogen source. The doping of different nitrogen contents was effectively controlled by diethylamine. As the amount of nitrogen increased, more binding sites on the nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots were supplied to the folic acid. Laser confocal scanning microscopy showed that the more folic acid binding facilitated the recognition and swallowing by cancer cells, which made the labeled cells emit stronger fluorescence and thus cancer cells could be better detected. Cytotoxicity tests showed that the material was low cytotoxic, making it a promising prospect for fluorescent probes.