Labeling Fusarium oxysporum with silicon carbide quantum dots and long-term-distance fluorescent imaging for living cells

Fluorescence microscopy has allowed the functional study of various molecules that have been identified in living cells. The capabilities of this technique have generated a huge interest in developing new probes for labeling molecules and observing changes in their cellular activities. Quantum dots (QDs) based on II-VI (e.g., CdSe, CdTe, CdS, and ZnSe) and III-V (e.g., InP and InAs) semiconductors have attracted considerable scientific interest over the past two decades for their remarkable luminescent properties. However, the widely used CdX semiconductor QDs were found to be cytotoxic through the release of free metallic ions (cadmium ions for instance). Therefore, it becomes clear that the cytotoxicity strongly influencing biological cell functioning is one of the major limiting factors for the application of II-VI QDs in efficient living cell imaging. Recently, silicon carbide(SiC) QDs has been growing attention for people with the advantages of non-toxic, good biocompatible due to its simple preparation process and excellent optical properties. Especially, for the Fusarium oxysporum, inspection of its infection mechanism needs to be fluorescent marked and long-term-distance tracing with vivo cells. The paper focus on two aspects for SiC QDs: fabrication and the vivo cells marking and long-term-distance fluorescent imaging.