Abstract
Graphitic carbon nitride quantum dots (CNQDs) have been widely used in bioimaging due to the unique structure and optical properties, but only a few works demonstrate targeted imaging. Herein, we report a universal one-pot strategy for preparation of targeting agent functionalized CNQDs by taking folate (FA) as an example through hot-fluid annealing of triazine tectons and derived FA. The FA-CNQDs with size of 3 ∼ 8 nm exhibit bright fluorescence, favorable colloidal stability, and well cytocompatibility and in vivo biocompatibility. The remarkable performance of FA-CNQDs in targeted imaging is demonstrated by incubation study with folate receptor overexpressed cancer cells and the cell derived multicellular spheroids. This convenient strategy would open a new avenue for synthesis of various functionalized CNQDs.
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