In the present study, we are reporting a one-pot synthesis of gelatin quantum dots (GeQDs) by the hydrothermal process. The synthesized GeQDs were characterized by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, ultraviolet-visible and photoluminescence spectroscopic techniques, and also by using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The GeQDs showed a high level of photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) with significantly higher stability for up to 6 months and presented similar fluorescent intensity as the initial PLQY without any precipitation and aggregation at ambient condition. The cell imaging ability of synthesized GeQDs was examined using cells belonging to diverse clinical backgrounds like bacterial cells including Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, yeast cells including Candida albicans, C. krusei, C. parapsilosis, and C. tropicalis, mycelial fungi including Aspergillus flavus and A. fumigatus cells, cancer cell lines A549, HEK293 and L929. The results demonstrated that the GeQDs illuminates the cells and can be utilized as potential cell labeling non-toxic biomarkers. In conclusion, it can be said that the gelatin stabilized QDs are a promising candidate for stable and long-term fluorescent imaging of different types of cells.

在本研究中，我们报告了通过水热过程一锅法合成明胶量子点（GeQDs）。通过傅立叶变换红外光谱，核磁共振，紫外可见和光致发光光谱技术以及高分辨率的透射电子显微镜对合成的GeQDs进行了表征。GeQD表现出高水平的光致发光量子产率（PLQY），在长达6个月的时间内具有更高的稳定性，并且呈现出与初始PLQY相似的荧光强度，在环境条件下没有任何沉淀和聚集。使用属于多种临床背景的细胞（例如包括大肠杆菌和大肠杆菌在内的细菌细胞）检查了合成的GeQD的细胞成像能力。金黄色葡萄球菌，包括白色念珠菌，克鲁斯梭菌，副念珠菌和热带梭菌的酵母细胞，包括黄曲霉和烟曲霉的菌丝体真菌，癌细胞系A549，HEK293和L929。结果表明，GeQDs可以照亮细胞，并可用作潜在的细胞标记无毒生物标志物。总而言之，可以说明胶稳定的QD是用于不同类型细胞的稳定和长期荧光成像的有前途的候选者。