Biomedical sciences are in need of more versatile and more sensitive approaches for research and also for diagnostic purposes. In particular, intracellular detection and imaging of disease relevant proteins is a challenge. Although the state of the art method of intracellular imaging is fluorescence, it suffers from several drawbacks. Raman is an alternative imaging modality and this work investigates the use of different Raman techniques for detection and imaging of cellular constituents. In one aspect of the work, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy using gold nanoshells excitable at a wavelength of 780 nm was investigated. Initially the investigation of the uptake of the 150 nm diameter nanoparticles showed that NS are taken up voluntarily by a non-standard en- docytosis mechanism into mammalian fibroblast cells. Furthermore it was shown that internalized particles have no detrimental in uence on cell growth or cell viability. That these nanoparticles are non toxic was further confirmed by testing for markers of apoptosis and necrosis. Preliminary surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) studies produced spectra from intracellular compartments with an enhancement factor of 1010. To yield high specificity of the intracellular Raman protein sensor, two different approaches were studied. The first is based on the application of DNA aptamers which form a stacked G-quadruplex on target protein binding. A SERS sensor based on the well characterized Thrombin binding aptamer (TBA) yielded high reproducibility, high target specificity, and a limit of detection down to 0.1 fM. Further studies on a similar stacked G-quadruplex forming aptamer confirmed that observed detection signal is produced by the aptamer assuming its secondary structure but also showed that the stabilization and formation of the G-quadruplex secondary structure is strongly buffer dependent. A second sensing approach was based on a peptide (a3(IV)NC1) influential in Goodpasture's syndrome, an autoimmune disease. With the help of this peptide we found that an intracellular redoxpotential of -200 mV is necessary to make it accessible for the protease Cathepsin D. We found that SERS sensing has the ability to study the binding of Cathepsin D, its activity and with the help of a synthesized amino-acid SERS library the direct detection of the remaining peptide products. Finally this work concludes with imaging the changes of lipid droplet structure and distribution in fibroblast cells during the infection process of the murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) in fixed and in living cells by coherent anti-Stokes Raman based on a Synchro-lock phase coupled setup. This showed that CARS imaging is able to non-invasively investigate the changes of lipid structures during different stages of the infection process and therefore promises to be a valuable tool in biological research.

Metal nanoparticles can possess intriguing properties due to their nanoscale dimensions, and are intensively applied in research. With the development of synthetic systems, classic crystal growth theories become limited and cannot explain current conditions very well. The aim of this project is to find out the factors that influence crystal growth at the nanoscale and develop general methods to prepare shape-controlled nanomaterials. The growth process of CuPt nanorods is studied and a ligand mediated mechanism is proposed. It reveals that surface ligands are crucial in guiding the one dimensional growth through their mutual interactions. Solvent effect is discovered to be able to control the nanoparticles morphology, by indirectly tuning the interactions between ligands and the surface of a particle. Based on this mechanism, titanate nanosheets with a monolayer thickness are prepared with the assistance of surface ligands. An effective, one-step method is developed to prepare CuPd nanowire networks, which demonstrates its versatility in the preparation of other alloyed networks. The growth process of CuPt nanoparticles are investigated, and show that the growth pathway can be a reversed, surface-to-core crystallization route. The effect of dealloying, including acid etching and galvanic replacement, is studied and used to fabricate nanoparticles with various morphologies. The findings in this project highlight the influence of surface ligands in the synthesis of nanocrystals, provide new perspectives of crystal growth mechanisms and offer practical knowledge for nanostructuring materials.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Biological & Agricultural Engineering / Donghai Wang / Cellulosic ethanol is a renewable source of energy. Lignocellulosic biomass is a complex material composed mainly of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Biomass pretreatment is a required step to make sugar polymers liable to hydrolysis. Mineral acids are commonly used for biomass pretreatment. Using acid catalysts that can be recovered and reused could make the process economically more attractive. The overall goal of this dissertation is the development of a recyclable nanocatalyst for the hydrolysis of biomass sugars. Cobalt iron oxide nanoparticles (CoFe[superscript]2O[subscript]4) were synthesized to provide a magnetic core that could be separated from reaction using a magnetic field and modified to carry acid functional groups. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the crystal structure was that of cobalt spinel ferrite. CoFe[superscript]2O[superscript]4 were covered with silica which served as linker for the acid functions. Silica-coated nanoparticles were functionalized with three different acid functions: perfluoropropyl-sulfonic acid, carboxylic acid, and propyl-sulfonic acid. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images were analyzed to obtain particle size distributions of the nanoparticles. Total carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur were quantified using an elemental analyzer. Fourier transform infra-red spectra confirmed the presence of sulfonic and carboxylic acid functions and ion-exchange titrations accounted for the total amount of catalytic acid sites per nanoparticle mass. These nanoparticles were evaluated for their performance to hydrolyze the β-1,4 glycosidic bond of the cellobiose molecule. Propyl-sulfonic (PS) and perfluoropropyl-sulfonic (PFS) acid functionalized nanoparticles catalyzed the hydrolysis of cellobiose significantly better than the control. PS and PFS were also evaluated for their capacity to solubilize wheat straw hemicelluloses and performed better than the control. Although PFS nanoparticles were stronger acid catalysts, the acid functions leached out of the nanoparticle during the catalytic reactions. PS nanoparticles were further evaluated for the pretreatment of corn stover in order to increase digestibility of the biomass. The pretreatment was carried out at three different catalyst load and temperature levels. At 180°C, the total glucose yield was linearly correlated to the catalyst load. A maximum glucose yield of 90% and 58% of the hemicellulose sugars were obtained at this temperature.

Au-coated magnetic Fe nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized by partial replacement reaction in a polar aprotic solvent with about 11 nm core of Fe and about 2.5 nm shell of Au. In this work, a combination of TEM (transmission electron microscopy), XRD (X-ray Powder Diffractometry), EDS (Energy disperse X-ray spectroscopy), SQUID (Superconducting Quantum Interference Device), TGA (Thermograviometric analysis), UV-visible absorption spectroscopy and Faraday rotation were employed to characterize the morphology, structure, composition and magnetic properties of the products. HRTEM images show clear core-shell structure with different crystal lattices from Fe and Au. SQUID magnetometry reveals that particle magnetic properties are not significantly affected by the overlayer of a moderately thick Au shell. The Au-coated particles exhibit a surface plasmon resonance peak that red-shifts from 520 to 680 nm. And all the above characterizations show that in this sample, there are no Fe oxides inside the particle.

The brightness and photostability of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) has prompted the exploration of their use in a wide variety of fields. Several examples of QD-based biosensors have been reported but none have actually replaced their preexisting technologies. This work reveals the barriers hindering widespread use of QD based biosensors and examines how QDs can be engineered for improved utility in bioassay designs. The first portion of this project aims to improve Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) that use QDs as both the donor and acceptor. FRET-based sensors often use fluorescent dyes (FD) or proteins (FPs), but their photo- and chemical instability can be problematic. Contemporary QD-QD FRET systems suffer from unacceptably high background signal due to direct acceptor excitation. Materials engineering is used to create QD donors that are brighter than their QD acceptors to mitigate this effect. First, CdSe/xCdS/xZnS QDs of increasing shell thickness were synthesized and tested in a QD-fluorescent dye system to elucidate the effect of increased donor size on the performance of a FRET sensor. The optimal donors were medium-sized and 8 times brighter than commercially available QDs while retaining ~60% FRET efficiency. When used in a sensor, changes in sensor brightness were visible by eye. Moving towards QD-QD systems, a pH-based aggregation assay was used to test how QD heterostructures comprised of different semiconductor materials perform as FRET donors or acceptors. The fundamental principles uncovered are used to improve contemporary QD-QD FRET sensing and show that sensors can be designed to use color change as a visible, easy-to-decipher readout. Color change-based sensor output is further explored in an allosteric transcription factor-based small-molecule sensor that employs QDs as the sole fluorescent label. A highly modular design is presented that achieves a nanomolar concentration visual limit of detection. The ease of use, and fast, instrument-free readout of the sensor shows promise for its development into a fully integrated point-of-care device, endorsing the value of further developing QD-based in vitro biosensors for clinical or commercial translation. / 2020-06-04T00:00:00Z

Thesis advisor: Chia-Kuang Tsung / Incorporating shape and size controlled metal nanoparticles (NPs) into metal-organic-frameworks (MOFs) shows great potential in heterogeneous catalysis. The combination of ordered nanoporous structure of MOFs and the well-defined surfaces of metal NPs provides a new tool to modulate the catalysis on the metal surface. Due to the large pore size, framework flexibility and selective interaction with gas molecules, MOFs have been widely used for gas storage with high selectivity. Among which have been developed to date, Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks-8 (ZIF-8) and UiO-66 show advantageous properties. The solvent resistivity and high thermal stability makes them stand out to be good candidates as shell materials in core shell catalysts. In our work, we developed an efficient way to create a yolk-shell structure of Pd nanoparticles in ZIF-8 and, at the same time, a method to incorporate the shape/size controlled Pt nanoparticles into well-defined octahedral UiO-66 nanocrystals with the control of concentration and dispersion. The formation mechanisms of both yolk-shell and core-shell structures were also studied in the work. / Thesis (MS) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Chemistry.

Thesis advisor: Torsten Fiebig / This dissertation examines the chemistry and photophysics of semiconductor quantum dots with the intent of studying their capabilities and limitations as they pertain to photovoltaic technologies. Specifically, experiments are presented detailing the first time-resolved measurements of electron transfer in electronically coupled quantum rods. Electron transfer from the conduction band of CdTe was measured to occur on the 400 fs timescale (<italic>k_ET</italic> = 2.5 x 10<super>12</super> s<super>-1</super>), more than 500x faster than previously believed. Additionally, the direct optical promotion of an electron from the valence band of CdTe was observed, occurring on the timescale of the pump pulse (~50 fs). Based on the determined injection rates, a carrier separation efficiency of > 90% has been calculated suggesting these materials are sufficient for use in solar energy capture applications where efficient carrier separation is critical. To this end, model photovoltaic cells were fabricated, and their power conversion efficiency and photon-to-current generation efficiency characterized. In devices based of CdSe and heteromaterial quantum rods we observed fill-factors on the order of 10-20% though with power conversion efficiencies of < 0.02%. It was discovered that using a high temperature annealing step, while critical to get electrochemically stable photoelectrodes, was detrimental to quantum confinement effects and likely removed any hQR specific capabilities. Additionally, a detailed study on the role of nucleotide triphosphate chemistry in stabilizing emissive CdS nanoparticles is presented. Specifically it was observed that in a neutral pH environment, GTP selectively stabilizes CdS quantum dots with diameters of ~4 nm while the other naturally occurring ribonucleotides do not yield emissive product. The selectivity is dependent on the presence of the nucleophilic N-7 electrons near a triphosphate pocket for Cd<super>2+</super> complexation as well as an exocyclic amine to stabilize the resulting product particles. However, in an elevated pH environment, the nucleobase specificity is relaxed and all NTPs yield photo-emissive quantum dots with PLQEs as high as 10%. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Chemistry.

Nano-reinforced polymeric systems have demonstrated a great deal of interest within academia and industry, due to the intrinsic properties of the graphene nanofillers, having excellent mechanical, thermal and electrical properties. The reinforcement of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) were introduced into a low cost, non-carcinogenic, high temperature PMR type polyimide resin. The effects of the interfacial interaction and dispersion quality resulted in improvement in the glass transition temperature (Tg), elastic modulus and thermal stability by, 31°C, 63% and 16°C, respectively. In fine, this study presents a simple but effective high temperature polyimide (HTPI) nanocomposites manufacturing procedure and established that nanoparticle reinforcement can be used to improve both thermal and mechanical properties. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

貴金屬納米顆粒催化劑因其獨特的性質而備受關注。他們的高比表面積和可控的形貌使得他們表現出於同類體相材料所不同的催化性能。為了避免催化反應過程中由於納米顆粒本身形貌的改變而引起的催化活性降低，貴金屬納米顆粒通常被負載在固體氧化物載體上。同時，由於協同作用的產生，固體金屬氧化物載體在反應過程中也能對納米顆粒的催化效果產生影響。本論文系統介紹了利用超聲噴霧法製備貴金屬納米顆粒負載的金屬氧化物微納米球的過程，以及為研究這種微纳米球的催化性能而進行的實驗檢測。氧化物存在不仅为催化剂提供了载体，而且其介孔结构亦有利于反应物扩散到纳米催化剂的周围，从而提高反应的速率。 / 本論文首先介紹了一步法製備貴金屬納米顆粒負載的金屬氧化物微纳米球及其在催化反应中的應用。我們選擇了金、鉑和鈀來分別負載在二氧化鈦、二氧化鋯和三氧化二鋁微納米球上。這幾種貴金屬和氧化物都是在環境污染控制、石油化工產業和醫藥產業中具有代表性的催化劑及襯底。除了檢測我們所製備的微納米顆粒的結構形貌等特徵外，我們還利用對硝基苯酚還原為對胺基苯酚的這個催化反應檢驗了這些貴金屬納米顆粒負載的氧化物微納米球的催化活性。考慮到三種貴金屬和三種氧化物的排列組合，以及金屬含量可能產生的影響，我們準備了九類共18份樣品，逐個進行催化反應。最後的結果顯示，含鈀0.1%摩爾比例的二氧化鈦表現出最強的催化活性。同时，這種方法也可以推廣到其他的貴金屬以及氧化物襯底，從而可以簡單方便地製備各种氧化物负载貴金屬催化劑，并可以對他們之間的協同作用進行研究。 / 此外，我根據同樣的超聲噴霧法製備了貴金屬負載的空心介孔氧化物微納米球。這個研究課題引入了聚苯乙烯球作為模板。同時利用聚苯乙烯球表面修飾過的金屬納米顆粒之间的相互作用，實現了金屬納米顆粒在球表面的吸附，进而聚苯乙烯球可以作為載體將金屬納米顆粒帶入介孔氧化物中。通過熱分解將聚苯乙烯球除去後，金屬納米顆粒就可以吸附在空心介孔氧化物球的內表面。在這個實驗中，我們先製備好據有特殊形貌的金屬納米顆粒，比如金納米棒、鈀納米立方体和金納米棒外面包覆鈀的納米殼鞘結構。然後借助聚苯乙烯球將其帶入介孔二氧化鈦和二氧化鋯及二氧化硅中。在對硝基苯酚還原的實驗中，这种介孔微纳米球表现出良好的催化性能并在一定程度上提高了催化剂的循环性。 / 为了尽可能的提高催化剂的循环性，我希望能獲得據有良好磁性的介孔微納米球。我們嘗試了兩種方法，一是將磁性納米顆粒比如鐵的氧化物納米顆粒引入介孔氧化物微納米球，另一種方法是製備據有磁性的介孔氧化鐵微納米球。我们相信通過這種方法，貴金屬納米顆粒負載的介孔氧化物微納米球的催化性能，尤其是循環性能必然會顯著的提高。 / Noble metal nanoparticles/nanocrystals have attracted much attention as catalysts due to their unique characteristics, including high surface areas and well-controlled facets, which are not often possessed by their bulk counterparts. To avoid the loss of their catalytic activities brought about by their size and shape changes during catalytic reactions, noble metal nanoparticles/nanocrystals are usually dispersed and supported finely on solid oxide supports to prevent agglomeration, nanoparticle growth, and therefore the decrease in the total surface area. Moreover, metal oxide supports can also play important roles in catalytic reactions through the synergistic interactions with loaded metal nanoparticles/nanocrystals. In this thesis, I use ultrasonic aerosol spray to produce hybrid microspheres that are composed of noble metal nanoparticles/nanocrystals embedded in mesoporous metal oxide matrices. The mesoporous metal oxide structure allows for the fast diffusion of reactants and products as well as confining and supporting noble metal nanoparticles. / I will first describe my studies on noble metal-loaded mesoporous oxide microspheres as catalysts. Three types of noble metals (Au, Pt, Pd) and three types of metal oxide substrates (TiO₂, ZrO₂, Al₂O₃) were selected, because they are widely used for practical catalytic applications involved in environmental cleaning, pollution control, petrochemical, and pharmaceutical syntheses. By considering every possible combination of the noble metals and oxide substrates, nine types of catalyst samples were produced. I characterized the structures of these catalysts, including their sizes, morphologies, crystallinity, and porosities, and their catalytic performances by using a representative reduction reaction from nitrobenzene to aminobenzene. Comparison of the catalytic results reveals the effects of the different noble metals, their incorporation amounts, and oxide substrates on the catalytic abilities. For this particular reaction, I found that Pd nanoparticles supported on mesoporous TiO₂ exhibit the best catalytic performance. The demonstrated low-cost and high-productivity preparation method can be extended to other catalysts, which can contain various metals and oxide substrates and will have high potential for industrial applications. Our preparation method also provides a platform for the studies of the synergetic catalytic effects between different oxide substrates and metals. / I further fabricated hollow mesoporous microspheres containing differently shaped noble metal nanocrystals. Hollow structures are strongly desired in many applications because of their high pore volumes, surface areas, and possible light-trapping effect. In my study, the hollow structures were obtained by simply dispersing polystyrene (PS) nanospheres into the precursor solution for aerosol spray. The PS spheres were removed by thermal calcination to produce hollow mesoporous microspheres. In my first study, the noble metal salts were dissolved in the precursor solutions, and the noble metal nanoparticles were obtained through thermal calcination. In this way, the size and shape of the metal nanoparticles cannot be well controlled. In my second study, I first grew noble metal nanocrystals and then incorporated them into the oxide supports. This preparation route allowed me to incorporate metal nanocrystals with controlled sizes, shapes, and compositions into the oxide matrices. The metal nanocrystals I used in this experiment included Pd nanocubes, Au nanorods, and Au corePd shell nanorods. These nanocrystals were functionalized with thiol-terminated methoxypoly(ethylene glycol) . The surface functionalization allowed them to adsorb on the PS spheres. After thermal calcination, the noble metal nanocrystals were left inside and adsorbed on the inner surface of the hollow mesoporous metal oxide microspheres. I investigated the catalytic activities of the Pd nanocube-embedded hollow mesoporous TiO₂ and ZrO₂ microspheres for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol. I also examined the recyclability of the Pd nanocube-embedded hollow mesoporous ZrO₂ microsphere catalysts. The results showed that the combination of the noble metal nanocrystals and oxides prevents the aggregation of the nanostructures and reduces the loss of the catalysts during the recycling processes, leading to the remarkable recyclability of the hybrid catalyst. This method for the preparation of noble metal nanostructure-embedded hollow mesoporous oxide microspheres can greatly facilitate the investigation on the catalytic properties of noble metal nanocrystal and metal oxide hybrid nanostructures and therefore guide the design and fabrication of high-performance catalysts. / Last but not least, I investigated the magnetic mesoporous microspheres to enable a better recyclability of the mesoporous oxide catalysts. Both magnetic nanoparticle-included mesoporous metal oxides and mesoporous magnetic oxides were presented. The successfully syntheses of these microspheres will greatly improve the catalytic performance of the noble metal nanoparticle-loaded mesoporous oxide microspheres. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Jin, Zhao = 貴金屬納米顆粒負載的介孔金屬氧化物微納米球及其催化應用 / 金釗. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese. / Jin, Zhao = Gui jin shu na mi ke li fu zai de jie kong jin shu yang hua wu wei na mi qiu ji qi cui hua ying yong / Jin Zhao. / Abstract --- p.i / 摘要 --- p.iii / Acknowledgement --- p.v / Table of Contents --- p.vii / List of Figures --- p.x / List of Tables --- p.xvii / Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Mesoporous metal oxide materials --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.1 --- Overview on mesoporous materials --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.2 --- Syntheses of mesoporous metal oxides --- p.3 / Chapter 1.1.2.1 --- Preparation of mesoporous metal oxides through soft-templating methods --- p.3 / Chapter 1.1.2.2 --- Preparation of mesoporous metal oxides through hard-templating methods --- p.8 / Chapter 1.1.3 --- Applications of mesoporous metal oxides --- p.11 / Chapter 1.1.3.1 --- Catalysis --- p.12 / Chapter 1.1.3.2 --- Energy conversion and storage --- p.13 / Chapter 1.1.3.3 --- Sensing --- p.13 / Chapter 1.2 --- Noble metal nanopartilces --- p.15 / Chapter 1.2.1 --- Overview of noble metal nanoparticles --- p.15 / Chapter 1.2.2 --- Catalytic applications of noble metal nanoparticles --- p.19 / Chapter 1.2.2.1 --- Automotive converter --- p.19 / Chapter 1.2.2.2 --- Suzuki cross-coupling reaction --- p.20 / Chapter 1.3 --- The overview of this thesis --- p.22 / References --- p.24 / Chapter 2 --- Ultrasonic Aerosol Spray --- p.30 / Chapter 2.1 --- Working principle and our ultrasonic aerosol spray system --- p.30 / Chapter 2.2 --- Materials synthesized by the AASA method --- p.34 / References --- p.37 / Chapter 3 --- Materials Characterization Methods and Catalytic Studies --- p.39 / Chapter 3.1 --- Characterization methods --- p.39 / Chapter 3.2 --- Model catalytic reaction --- p.41 / References --- p.45 / Chapter 4 --- Noble Metal Nanoparticle-Loaded Mesoporous Oxide Microspheres --- p.46 / Chapter 4.1 --- Experiments --- p.48 / Chapter 4.2 --- Results and discussion --- p.50 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Mesoporous metal oxide microspheres --- p.50 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Noble metal nanoparticle-loaded mesoporous oxide microspheres --- p.55 / Chapter 4.3 --- Summary --- p.73 / References --- p.75 / Chapter 5 --- Metal Nanostructure-Embedded Hollow Mesoporous Oxide Microspheres Prepared with Polystyrene Nanospheres as Carriers and Templates --- p.78 / Chapter 5.1 --- Experiments --- p.83 / Chapter 5.2 --- Results and discussion --- p.88 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Hollow mesoporous oxide microspheres prepared with the PS spheres as templates --- p.88 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Noble metal nanostructure-embedded hollow mesoporous oxide microspheres --- p.90 / Chapter 5.3 --- Summary --- p.106 / References --- p.108 / Chapter 6 --- Magnetic Mesoporous Microspheres --- p.113 / Chapter 6.1 --- Experiment --- p.115 / Chapter 6.2 --- Results and discussion --- p.117 / Chapter 6.2.1 --- Magnetic nanoparticle-included mesoporous TiO₂ microspheres --- p.117 / Chapter 6.2.2 --- Mesoporous iron oxide microspheres --- p.125 / Chapter 6.3 --- Summary --- p.128 / References --- p.130 / Chapter 7 --- Conclusions --- p.131

Carbon nanoparticles constitute a class of important materials that have uses in many different fields. This thesis focuses on the synthesis and surface modification of different carbon nanoparticles and each novel nanomaterial is demonstrated to have a specific sensing application. Carbon blacks play a significant role in the research that is presented herein. Emperor 2000, a commercial bulk-produced carbon black available from Cabot Corporation, is the starting material for many of the investigations. The surface of Emperor 2000 is shown to be susceptible to physisorption, through π-π stacking. These interactions are exploited to append pyrene-based compounds onto the surface of the carbon nanoparticles. This methodology results in carbon nanoparticles with surface boronic acid functionality that is demonstrated to be affective in the electrochemical detection of catecholic caffeic acid. Emperor 2000 carbon nanoparticles are commercially produced with phenylsulphonic acid functional groups on the surface. This functionality is subjected to synthetic methods to obtain carbon nanoparticles with extremely hydrohphobic character, which are demonstrated as important substrates for probing lipophilic redox systems and lipid character under different experimental conditions. Fluorescent carbon nanodots (C-dots) are another important form of carbon nanoparticle. Herein, the facile synthesis of C-dots that possess intrinsic pyridine functionality is described. These nanodots exhibit two-photon fluorescence that is exhibited both in solution and in HeLa cells. The nanodots are demonstrated to have the potential to be developed into nanomedicines and biocompatible scaffolds for new drug delivery mechanisms. These straightforward synthesis, modification, and application methods demonstrate the effectiveness and the versatility of carbon nanoparticles. This class of nanomaterial is generally outclassed by modern and more fashionable carbon nanotubes and graphene-based systems. However, carbon nanoparticles are more cost effective and readily available carbon-based nanomaterials that can be used for a wide range of applications.