Bio-imaging and drug carriers for delivery have created a huge demand for crystals. Crystals are fascinating materials that have been grown for a long time but obtaining biocompatible fluorescent crystals is a challenging task. We report on the growth of fluorescent crystals using a carbon dot (C-dot) solution by a hydrothermal process. The crystallization pattern of these C-dots exhibited a unique dendritic structure having a feather-like morphology. The growth temperature and pressure were maintained at 60°C and 200 mmHg, respectively, for crystal growth. A green fluorescence (under UV light) that was observed in the C-dot solution was retained in the crystals formed from the solution. Cytotoxicity studies on Vero cells revealed the crystals to be extremely biocompatible. These fluorescent crystals are extremely well suited for biomedical and optoelectronic applications.

• Ashmi Mewada(N. S. N. Research Centre for Nanotechnology and Bio-nanotechnology, India)
• Ritesh Vishwakarma(N. S. N. Research Centre for Nanotechnology and Bio-nanotechnology, India, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Japan)
• Bhushan Patil(N. S. N. Research Centre for Nanotechnology and Bio-nanotechnology, India)
• Chinmay Phadke(N. S. N. Research Centre for Nanotechnology and Bio-nanotechnology, India)
• Golap Kalita(Nagoya Institute of Technology, Japan)
• Maheshwar Sharon(N. S. N. Research Centre for Nanotechnology and Bio-nanotechnology, India)
• Madhuri Sharon(N. S. N. Research Centre for Nanotechnology and Bio-nanotechnology, India) Corresponding Author