LAUSR

Appreciated raw materials like silk-sericin can be recovered from silk-textile industrial waste for the production of novel functional nanomaterials. In this study, highly fluorescent sericin based carbon nanosheets (SCN) were produced from industrial wastewater containing silk-sericin as a precursor, and was applied as bio-imaging application for oral fat stem cells. A simple one-pot, hydrothermal carbonization method was used to produce SCN at a 180°C. The obtained hydrothermal carbons exhibited strong fluorescence properties due to the presence of strong polar groups, such as carboxyl, amino and amide groups in the surface. Heteroatom functionalization of the SCN leads to the property of fluorescence due to enriched nitrogen and was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The plate-like morphology of SCN about 35nm in size was evaluated by transmission electron microscopy. The carbon 13 nuclear magnetic resonance results revealed that nano-sized fluorescent SCN formed during carbonization and functionalization occurred through dehydration of the sericin protein. Moreover, the prepared SCNs demonstrated low toxicity and their suitability for bio-imaging applications was demonstrated to the oral fat stem cells. Overall, sericin degumming wastewater from the silk textile industry can be utilized for the production of SCNs for stem cells bio-imaging applications.