Inhibition and Modulation of the Self-Assembly of Single Amino Acids and Dipeptides in the Presence of Chitosan-Derived Fluorescent Nanographene Oxide: Dye-Based White Light Generation in Micellar Media

Fluorescent carbon nanoparticles from various biomass and biowastes can be very much useful. In this work, we have successfully synthesized fluorescent carbon dot-type nanographene oxide (nGO). The emission properties of these nGOs were modulated in the presence of different stimuli and aqueous binary mixtures. Further, we have seen that nGOs showed aggregation-induced quenching in the presence of cationic surfactant up to its premicellar concentration. Two lipophilic dyes in micellar media can also generate excellent white light in combination with these nGOs. Further, fluorescence imaging showed that these nGOs could inhibit the usual self-assembly of l-tyrosine, L-tryptophan, and diphenylalanine and modulate the self-assembly of l-methionine and aspartame. Therefore, these nGOs have potential use in light-emitting and therapeutic applications.