A team of scientists from CSIR-NEIST in Assam has developed a chemical process that turns ‘dirty’ coal into a biomedical ‘dot’ to help detect cancer cells.
About:
What are they? Carbon Quantum Dots (CQDs) are carbon-based nanomaterials whose size is less than 10 nm, or nanometre.
Application: They are used as diagnostic tools for bio-imaging, especially in detecting cancer cells, for chemical sensing and in opto-electronics. Scientists said CQDs are futuristic materials whose demand in India has been increasing leading to a considerable volume of import.
Global scenario: A few chemical companies in the U.S. and Japan have been manufacturing CQDs.
Recent development:
The team of scientists from CSIR-NEIST in Assam have developed a chemical method of producing CQDs from cheap, abundant, low-quality and high-sulphur coals.
Benefits:
The CSIR-NEIST technology can produce approximately 1 litre of CQDs per day at one-twentieth the cost of imported CQDs to become an import substitute.
The CQDs that the CSIR-NEIST team developed emit a bluish colour with “high-stability, good-conductivity, low-toxicity, environmental friendliness, and good optical properties”.
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