Citation: Renyi Shao, Khurram Abbas, Vladimir Yu. Osipov, Haimei Zhu, Yuan Li, Usama, Hong Bi. Red-emitting carbon dots prepared from Epipremnum Aureum leaves extract for biological imaging[J]. Acta Physico-Chimica Sinica, ;2026, 42(2): 100134. doi: 10.1016/j.actphy.2025.100134 shu

Red-emitting carbon dots prepared from Epipremnum Aureum leaves extract for biological imaging

Renyi Shao ¹ ,
Khurram Abbas ² ,
Vladimir Yu. Osipov ³ ,
Haimei Zhu ¹ ,
Yuan Li ¹ ,
Usama ^1,, ,
Hong Bi ^1,,

1.
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, Anhui Province, China
2.
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, Anhui Province, China
3.
Ioffe Institute, St. Petersburg 194021, Russian Federation

Corresponding author: Usama, 24743@ahu.edu.cn Hong Bi, bihong@ahu.edu.cn
Received Date: 6 June 2025
Revised Date: 17 July 2025
Accepted Date: 22 July 2025

Carbon dots (CDs) have been widely applied in fluorescence imaging both in vitro and in vivo. However, key challenges remain to be addressed, including the poor specificity of CDs as biological markers and their relatively low fluorescence quantum yield (QY) in the red emission region. In this study, we synthesized red fluorescent carbon dots (designated as EA-CDs, λ_ex/λ_em = 400 nm/660 nm) using a natural plant-derived precursor ethanol extract from Epipremnum aureum leaves via a one-pot solvothermal method. The EA-CDs exhibit a small particle size (average diameter: 3.9 nm), high fluorescence QY (15.4% in ethanol at λ_em = 660 nm), low toxicity (both in vitro and in vivo), and favorable lipophilicity (oil-water partition coefficient LogP > 0), making them suitable for biological fluorescence imaging and labeling applications. Experimental results indicate that these red-emitting CDs can not only effectively label plant cell membranes, but also serve as an intestinal fluorescence imaging probe in zebrafish models. This suggests their potential as a universal red-emissive bio-membrane dye with high QY. Furthermore, this work pioneers a novel application approach for ornamental plants like Epipremnum aureum.
- Carbon dots,
- Red emission,
- Biological imaging,
- Membrane dyes,
- Epipremnum aureum,
- Zebrafish
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