Mushroom-Derived Carbon Dots for Toxic Metal Ion Detection and as Antibacterial and Anticancer Agents

• Published in: ACS applied nano materials Vol. 3; no. 6; pp. 5910 - 5919
• Main Authors: Boobalan, T, Sethupathi, M, Sengottuvelan, N, Kumar, Ponnuchamy, Balaji, P, Gulyás, Balázs, Padmanabhan, Parasuraman, Selvan, Subramanian Tamil, Arun, A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 26.06.2020
• Subjects: ct-DNA binding; carbon dots; cancer theranostics; antibacterial; metal ion sensors
• ISSN: 2574-0970; 2574-0970
• DOI: 10.1021/acsanm.0c01058

Although carbon nanoparticles or quantum dots (C-dots) have been studied extensively for a variety of applications (e.g., photocatalysis, metal ion sensing, antibacterial, cell labeling), a greener synthetic method is highly indispensable. Herein, we report a facile one-step hydrothermal carbonization approach for the synthesis of fluorescent blue/green C-dots using oyster mushroom (Pleurotus species). First, we demonstrate the application of these C-dots as a colorimetric sensor for toxic metal ions detection such as heavy metal Pb2+ ions with the limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) of 58.63 μM and 177.69 μM, respectively. Second, we show the application of C-dots as a promising fluorescent probe for DNA recognition through the electrostatic intercalative interaction between ctDNA and C-dots. Third, we demonstrate the efficient antibacterial activity of C-dots against three bacterial strains (Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa). Finally, the anticancer activity of C-dots against MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells is demonstrated.