Synthesis of highly fluorescent hydrophobic carbon dots by hot injection method using Paraplast as precursor

•Synthesis of hydrophobic carbon dots from polymer based Paraplast•Deep blue color under the influence of UV light•Typical optical properties used for biological imaging•Biological imaging of breast cancer stem cells revealing potential of carbon dots

We have reported synthesis of bright blue colored hydrophobic carbon dots (hC-dots) using highly pure blend of polymers called Paraplast. We developed a hot injection method for making nearly monodispersed hC-dots with a diameter in a range: 5–30 nm as confirmed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The involvement of various functional groups was confirmed by Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy. These hC-dots were incubated with breast cancer stem cells in order to check the entry as well as biological imaging. The cells were analyzed using epifluorescent microscopy. hC-dots showed concentration dependent cytotoxicity (LD50: 50 mg/ml) and could be used for bioimaging even at lower concentration (0.5 mg/ml). hC-dots were found to be versatile agents for peeping inside the cells which could also be used for delivery of water insoluble chemotherapeutic agents to variety of solid tumors.

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