Multifunctional single-layered graphene quantum dots used for diagnosis of mitochondrial malfunction-related diseases

Mitochondria are critical organelles in eukaryotes that efficiently generate ATP for various biological activities and any defect in the process of ATP synthesis may lead to mitochondrial dysfunction and directly link to a variety of medical disorders. Monitoring the ATP variations in cells is key for innovative early diagnosis of mitochondrial diseases. In this work, multifunctional single-layered graphene quantum dots (s-GQDs) with green fluorescence were constructed, which exhibit strong binding affinity for ATP and good mitochondria targeting ability. Using the proposed s-GQDs we successfully achieved to discriminate the primary smooth muscle cells isolated from the transgenic mouse (heterozygote Sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase (SERCA) 2 C674S knock-in mouse) with mitochondrial disorders or their littermate controls, indicating s-GQDs as promising probes for the study of cell metabolism and mitochondrial malfunction-related diseases, and targeting endoplasmic reticulum stress is an effective way...