A pilot study on carbon quantum dots for bioimaging of muscle myoblasts

Carbon quantum dots (CQD) are fluorescent nanoparticles that show potential in bioimaging as biocompatible fluorescent dye replacements. Even though numerous precursors and various fabrication processes are reported, the use of corrosive chemicals is widespread during most of the process. Recently, researchers have focused on green synthesis techniques for CQDs used in biological studies. In this work, we report on CQDs fabricated from prevalent carbon sources, namely paper and bread, using a facile chemical-free technique. This green synthetic route facilitated the production of luminescent CQDs with a broad emission range between 380 - 600 nm. The photoluminescence of the CQDs was analyzed, and a suitable candidate for bioimaging was identified. The CQDs obtained from bread exhibited comparatively high fluorescent and low cytotoxicity. Moreover, these CQDs were well internalized by C2C12 muscle myoblast cells and clearly luminescent in differentiated myotubes. The results will potentially aid in disease and intervention studies using C2C12 cell model systems.