Rhodamine-Functionalized Graphene Quantum Dots for Detection of Fe³⁺ in Cancer Stem Cells

Abstract

A turn-on orange-red fluorescent nanosensor based on rhodamine B derivative-functionalized graphene quantum dots (RBD-GQDs) has been successfully synthesized for Fe(3+) detection with high sensitivity and selectivity. By connecting with GQDs, the water solubility, sensitivity, photostability, and biocompatibility of RBD are drastically improved. The most distinctive feature of the RBD-GQDs, which sets them apart from other previously reported fluorophores or GQDs, is that they with the detection limits as low as 0.02 μM are demonstrated as a Fe(3+) turn-on fluorescent nanosensor in cancer stem cells. Fe(3+) binding to such GQDs (RBD-GQDs-Fe(3+)) with orange-red fluorescence of 43% quantum yield were demonstrated to be the biomarkers for cancer stem cell imaging.