Carbon dots from Guar Gum: Synthesis, characterization and preliminary in vivo application in plant cells

In the present work, Guar Gum (GG) has been used as precursor to prepare carbon dots (CD) via microwave assisted synthesis. The carbon dots, as synthesized, were characterized by various analytical techniques such as Fourier Transformation Infra-Red (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopic (TEM) analysis, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and Fluorescent Microscopy (FM) etc. The TEM analysis revealed that 40% of the particles had diameter in the range of 20-30 nm while 15% had their size less than 10 nm. Zeta potential was found to be - 3.65 mV, thus indicating presence of slight negatively charged surface. Finally, in a preliminary investigation, impregnation of CDs was observed in Hisbiscus Rosa sinensis leaf, as viewed through fluorescence microscope.