Manipulating graphene quantum dots for oncological application

Halogen-decorated graphene quantum dots (X@GQDs) will be herein explored as a material platform for application in photodynamic therapy (PDT). GQDs have been extensively studied in biomedical areas such as bioimaging, bio-sensing and photothermal therapy due to their superior optical and physiochemical properties. Application of GQDs in PDT has been explored lately, but currently the main challenges are inadequate singlet oxygen (¹O₂) quantum yield (QY), poor solubility, and biocompatibility. In this talk, the synthesis of a new class of halogen (fluorine) containing GQDs (F@GQDs) will be described. The as-synthesized F@GQD sample demonstrates an average particle size below 3 nm with a fluorine doping content of around 2%. The synthesized F@GQDs show improved water solubility and biocompatibility, while emitting strong green fluorescence and QY slightly above 13%. Moreover, the photodynamic activity was successfully tested in bioassays (in vitro).

Professor Paulo César De Morais (H60), PhD, was full Professor of Physics at the University of Brasilia (UnB) – Brazil up to 2013. Appointed as UnB’s (Brazil) Emeritus Professor (2014); Visiting Professor at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) – China (2012-2015); Distinguished Professor at the Anhui University (AHU) – China (2016-2019); Full Professor at the Catholic University of Brasília (CUB) – Brazil (2018); CNPq-1A Research Fellow since 2010; 2007 Master Research Prize from UnB. He held two-years (1987-1988) post-doc position with Bell Communications Research, New Jersey – USA and received his Doctoral degree in Solid State Physics (1986) from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) – Brazil. With more than 13,000 citations, He has published more than 500 papers (Web of Science), delivered more than 200 international invited talks, and filed more than 15 patents.