Large-scale synthesis of soluble graphitic hollow carbon nanorods with tunable photoluminescence for the selective fluorescent detection of DNA

Abstract

Photoluminescent water-soluble hollow carbon nanorods were synthesized by the pyrolysis of castor oil seeds (Ricinus communis) without the use of a catalyst. Oxidation of the pyrolysed soot produced a water-soluble form of graphitic hollow carbon nanorods. These showed excitation-dependent multicoloured photoluminescent emission from the green to red region of the visible spectrum and extending to the near-infrared region. This photoluminescent behaviour was used to produce a fluorescent turn-off/turn-on sensor for the specific, sensitive and rapid determination of DNA with a detection limit of ∼1.14 nM.