Researchers at Clemson University, US, have made polymer-coated carbon nanoparticles that photoluminesce. The "carbon dots" could be less toxic and less environmentally harmful than some semiconductor quantum dots. "Carbon is hardly considered to be a semiconductor, so luminescent carbon nanoparticles are very interesting both fundamentally and practically," said Ya-Ping Sun of Clemson University. "It represents a new platform for the development of luminescent nanomaterials for a wide range of applications." The carbon dots could have applications in medical imaging, biological sensing and light-emitting diodes. The researchers say they labelled anthrax-like spores with luminescent carbon dots in a laboratory study. The team reported its work in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
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