Fig. 1. Design and characterization of h-GQDs for AKI treatment. Schematic illustration of antioxidative activity of h-GQDs (a) and their usage as ROS scavengers for treating AKI (b). TEM images of h-GQDs (c–e), p-GQDs (f, g), c-GQDs (h), c-GQDs–PH (i), c-GQDs–BA (j), and c-GQDs–BrPE (k). Scale bars are equal to 100 nm (c), 5 nm (d, f), and 1 nm (e, g–k). Photograph of h-GQDs dissolved in different solutions including water, saline, PBS, and DMEM containing 10% FBS (l). Photograph of the Tyndall effect of h-GQDs dissolved in different solutions (m). Schematic illustrations of the chemical structures of c-GQDs (n), h-GQDs (o), c-GQDs–PH (p), c-GQDs–BA (q), and c-GQDs–BrPE (r). Red bands indicate O atoms, white bands indicate H atoms, and gray bands indicate C atoms. Insets: the molecular structure of PH (p), BA (q), and BrPE (r).