Electrochemically generated fluorescent fullerene[60] nanoparticles as a new and viable bioimaging platform

Abstract

Aqueous solutions of fluorescent ultrafine C₆₀ nanoparticles have been successfully prepared by an electrochemical method, which involves reducing a C₆₀ film to C₆₀³⁻ anions in the presence of tetrabutylammonium (TBA⁺) cations in acetonitrile solution and transferring to water. The nanoparticles are highly emissive in the visible region. The structure of the fluorescent C₆₀ nanoparticles was deduced as a ∼5 nm sphere with a solid core of aggregated C₆₀ and an anionic shell of C₆₀³⁻, which renders the nanoparticles water soluble. The photostable and nontoxic C₆₀ nanoparticles can easily penetrate into live cells, and are thus primed for a host of biomedical applications.