Live cell bioimaging with carbon dots produced in situ by femtosecond laser from intracellular material

Owning to excellent optical properties and high biocompatibility carbon dots (CDs) have drawn increasing attention and have been widely applied as imaging agents for various bio-applications. Here we report a strategy for live-cell fluorescent bioimaging based on in situ synthesis of CDs within cells by tightly focused femtosecond laser pulses. Laser-produced carbon dots exhibit bright excitation-dependent fluorescence and are highly two-photon active under near infrared femtosecond excitation, thus demonstrating a potential for two-photon fluorescence imaging. The Raman spectra of fluorescent centers show strong D (1350 cm-1) and G (1590 cm-1) bands, thus suggesting that they are composed of carbon dots with sp2-hybridyzed core. Using Mouse GV oocytes as a model system we examine cytotoxicity and demonstrate the possibility of long-term fluorescent intracellular tracking of the laser-produced CDs. Created virtually in any point of the live cell, CD-based fluorescent {micro}m-sized markers demonstrate high structural stability and retain bright fluorescence many hours after formation. Our results point to laser-produced fluorescent CDs as a highly-potent tool for cell cycle tracking, culture cell marking and probing intracellular movements.