Vedamalai, M.M.VedamalaiPeriasamy, A.P.A.P.PeriasamyWang, C.-W.C.-W.WangTseng, Y.-T.Y.-T.TsengHo, L.-C.L.-C.HoShih, C.-C.C.-C.ShihHUAN-TSUNG CHANG2018-09-102018-09-102014http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84907992056&partnerID=MN8TOARShttp://scholars.lib.ntu.edu.tw/handle/123456789/388226A simple hydrothermal method was applied to prepare carbon nanodots (C dots) from o-phenylenediamine (OPD). The C dots exhibit photoluminescence at 567 nm when excited at 420 nm. In the presence of Cu2+ ions, the colour of C dots changes from yellow to orange, with an increased PL intensity as a result of the formation of Cu(OPD)2 complexes on the surfaces of C dots. The D-band to G-band ratios of C dots in the absence and presence of 80 nM Cu2+ ions are 1.31 and 4.75, respectively. The C dots allow the detection of Cu2+ ions with linearity over a concentration range of 2-80 nM, with a limit of detection of 1.8 nM at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The cell viability values of A549, MCF-10A, and MDA-MB-231 cells treated with 3 μg mL-1 of C dots are all greater than 99%, showing their great biocompatibility. Having great water dispersibility, photostability, chemical stability (against NaCl up to 0.5 M), great selectivity, and biocompatibility, the C dots have been employed for the localization of Cu2+ ions in the cancer cells (A549 cells) treated with 10 μM Cu2+ ions. ? 2014 the Partner Organisations.[SDGs]SDG3[SDGs]SDG6Aromatic compounds; Biocompatibility; Carbon; Cells; Chemical stability; Cytology; Nanodots; Signal to noise ratio; Sodium chloride; Carbon nanodots; Concentration ranges; Hydrothermal methods; Limit of detection; Mda-mb-231 cells; O- phenylenediamine; Photo-stability; Water dispersibility; Ions; 1,2-diaminobenzene; biomaterial; carbon; carbon nanotube; copper; ion; phenylenediamine derivative; sodium chloride; water; cell survival; chemistry; electron; human; nanotechnology; signal noise ratio; transmission electron microscopy; tumor cell line; Biocompatible Materials; Carbon; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Survival; Copper; Electrons; Humans; Ions; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; Nanotechnology; Nanotubes, Carbon; Phenylenediamines; Signal-To-Noise Ratio; Sodium Chloride; Waterjournal article10.1039/c4nr03213f2-s2.0-84907992056