2D Monoelemental Germanene Quantum Dots: Synthesis as Robust Photothermal Agents for Photonic Cancer Nanomedicine. Issue 38 (13th August 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ouyang, Jiang; Feng, Chan; Ji, Xiaoyuan; Li, Li; Gutti, Hemanth Kiran; Kim, Na Yoon; Artzi, Dolev; Xie, Angel; Kong, Na; Liu, You‐Nian; Tearney, Guillermo J.; Sui, Xinbing; Tao, Wei; Farokhzad, Omid C.
• Is Part Of: Angewandte Chemie international edition. Volume 58:Issue 38(2019)
• Page Start: 13405
• Page End: 13410
• Publication Date: 2019-08-13
• Subjects: germanene -- multimodal imaging -- photothermal therapy -- quantum dots -- 2D materials; Chemistry -- Periodicals; 540
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.201908377
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1433-7851

Abstract

Abstract: As a new family member of the emerging two‐dimensional (2D) monoelemental materials (Xenes), germanene has shown promising advantages over the prototypical 2D Xenes, such as black phosphorus (BP) and graphene. However, efficient manufacture of novel germanene nanostructures is still a challenge. Herein, a simple top‐down approach for the liquid‐exfoliation of ultra‐small germanene quantum dots (GeQDs) is presented. The prepared GeQDs possess an average lateral size of about 4.5 nm and thickness of about 2.2 nm. The functionalized GeQDs were demonstrated to be robust photothermal agents (PTAs) with outstanding photothermal conversion efficacy (higher than those of graphene and BPQDs), superior stability, and excellent biocompatibility. As a proof‐of‐principle, 2D GeQDs‐based PTAs were used in fluorescence/photoacoustic/photothermal‐imaging‐guided hyperpyrexia ablation of tumors. This work could expand the application of 2D germanene to the field of photonic cancer nanomedicine. Abstract : A facile, top‐down, liquid‐exfoliation approach to produce ultra‐small germanene quantum dots (GeQDs) is presented. 2D GeQDs are robust photothermal therapeutic (PTT) agents and can be used for hyperpyrexia ablation of tumors guided by multimodal (photoacoustic, PA; NIR fluorescence, FL; photothermal, PT) imaging.