Multifunctional potassium-doped L-histidine hydrochloride crystals: optoelectronic properties and cytocompatibility studies
摘要
High-quality potassium-doped L-histidine hydrochloride (K⁺:LHHCl) single crystals were successfully grown via slow evaporation technique for dual optoelectronic and biomedical applications. Single-crystal XRD confirmed an orthorhombic system (space group P2₁2₁2₁) with 0.8% lattice expansion compared to undoped crystals, while EDX spectroscopy with extended acquisition provided qualitative verification of potassium incorporation. FTIR analysis demonstrated preserved molecular functionality with carboxylate vibrational shifts indicating K⁺ coordination. The crystals exhibited exceptional optical properties with wide transparency (251–1200 nm) and a direct band gap of 4.90 eV. Remarkably, the material showed 2.4× higher second harmonic generation efficiency than potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH2PO4, KDP) for the optimal 105–150 μm particle size fraction, attributed to its noncentrosymmetric structure. Thermal analysis revealed stability up to 158.7 °C, while MTT assays demonstrated dose-dependent cytotoxicity against MCF-7 breast cancer cells (IC₅₀ = 35.96 µg/mL, 66.21% inhibition at 100 µg/mL). These results position K⁺:LHHCl as a novel multifunctional material combining nonlinear optical performance for frequency conversion devices with potential anticancer therapeutic applications, bridging materials science and biomedicine.