Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of elemental sulfur-derived sustainable sulfur quantum dots.

Sulfur quantum dots (SQDs) are attracting increasing attention in the biomedical field due to their unique properties, such as antibacterial activity, free radical scavenging potential, optical properties, biocompatibility, and non-toxicity. Ethylenediamine passivated SQDs (ED-SQDs) were synthesized using a hydrothermal method. Cytotoxicity evaluation of ED-SQDs on RAW264.7 cells showed more than 90% cell viability even at 500 µg/mL of ED-SQDs, with an established IC50 value of 880.9 µg/mL. In addition, ED-SQDs showed potent antioxidant activity in vitro, effectively scavenging ABTS and DPPH free radicals at concentrations below 100 µg/mL, comparable to ascorbic acid. ED-SQD reduced lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species in macrophages, lowered pro-inflammatory cytokines, and inactivated LPS-activated STAT3. In addition, ED-SQD increased nuclear NRF2 and the expression of genes encoding antioxidant enzymes in LPS-stimulated cells. These results reveal the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential of ED-SQDs at non-toxic concentrations, providing evidence for their potential anti-inflammatory applications.

One-Pot Solvothermal Synthetic Route of a Zinc Oxide Nanoparticle-Decorated Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite: An Advanced Material with a Novel Anticancer Theranostic Approach.

This study focuses on a one-pot solvothermal synthetic route for the preparation of uniformly decorated zinc oxide nanoparticles on the surface of reduced graphene oxide (rGO/ZnO-NC) by using Andrographis paniculata leaf aqueous extract as an eco-friendly reducing agent. After characterizing the samples by different physical and chemical techniques, the anticancer activity of the synthesized rGO/ZnO-NC was examined on two human cancerous cell lines (HCT116 and A549) and one normal cell line (hMSCs). The MTT assays revealed that rGO/ZnO-NC exhibited dose-dependent cytotoxicity at a maximum concentration range of 10 ppm and the viability of the cells was drastically decreased to 95-96%. Measurement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and Annexin V-FTIC staining assay revealed that rGO/ZnO-NC induced apoptosis in HCT116 and A549 cell lines. Thus, this study shows that the green-synthesized rGO/ZnO-NC has great potential in developing an efficacious novel therapeutic agent for cancers.

Carboxymethylcellulose/Agar-Based Multifunctional Films Incorporated with Zn-Doped SnO2 Nanoparticles for Active Food Packaging Application.

SnO2 and Zn-SnO2 nanoparticles were prepared by chemical precipitation, and the rutile phase of SnO2 was confirmed through X-ray diffraction studies. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed the doping of SnO2 with Zn and elucidated the surface chemistry before and after doping. The average sizes of SnO2 and Zn-SnO2 nanoparticles determined using TEM were 3.96 ± 0.85 and 3.72 ± 0.9 nm, respectively. UV-visible and photoluminescence spectrophotometry were used to evaluate the optical properties of SnO2 and Zn-SnO2 nanoparticles, and their energy gaps (Eg) were 3.8 and 3.9 eV, respectively. The antibacterial activity of these nanoparticles against Salmonella enterica and Staphylococcus aureus was evaluated under dark and light conditions. Antibacterial activity was higher in light, showing the highest activity (99.5%) against S. enterica. Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC)/agar-based functional composite films were prepared by adding different amounts of SnO2 and Zn-SnO2 nanoparticles (1 and 3 wt % of polymers). The composite film showed significantly increased UV barrier properties while maintaining the mechanical properties, water vapor barrier, and transparency compared to the neat CMC/agar film. These composite films showed significant antibacterial activity; however, the Zn-SnO2-added film showed stronger antibacterial activity (99.2%) than the SnO2-added film (15%).

Advances and prospects of carbon dots for microplastic analysis.

Microplastics have become the world's most emerging pollutants today due to the ubiquitous use of plastics in everyday life and their ability to migrate from micro to nanoscale to every corner of the natural world, leading to ecological imbalances and global catastrophes. However, a standardized method for separating and analyzing microplastics from actual food or environmental samples has not been established. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a simple, fast, cost-effective, and accurate method that can accurately measure the degree of contamination of microplastics. As one of these methods, fluorometry has been proposed as a cost-effective method to detect, quantify and differentiate individual plastic particles. Therefore, this review discussed the technique for analyzing microplastics using fluorescent carbon dots (CDs). This review provided an overview of the impact of microplastics and the feasibility of using CDs to detect and analyze microplastics. In particular, this review will discuss novel microplastic analysis methods using CD and future application studies. The method using CDs will overcome the limitations of current microplastic analysis technology and may become a new method for detecting and analyzing microplastics.

Carboxymethylcellulose/agar-based functional film incorporated with nitrogen-doped polyethylene glycol-derived carbon dots for active packaging applications.

The present investigation demonstrates the role of nitrogen doping on polyethylene glycol (PEG)-derived carbon dots on optical, antibacterial, and antioxidant activity. CDs' average size and surface charge were determined using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and a zeta sizer with 2.14 ± 0.6 nm and -20 mV, respectively. Though CDs without N-doping (PCD) did not show any significant antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, the CDs doped with nitrogen (NPCD) showed potent antioxidant (25% and 100% DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity) and significant antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive (1.8 cm inhibition zone) and Gram-negative (1.4 cm) bacteria. Both carbon dots were loaded into the carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)/agar-based film with different concentrations (4 and 8%) and showed a significant increase in the physicochemical properties, and UV-blocking property was increased from 53.7 to 79.9% without sacrificing the transparency. The NPCD-loaded film also showed high antioxidant (DPPH 12.7% and ABTS 67%) and potent antibacterial activity. In particular, the CMC/agar film loaded with 8% NPCD destroyed Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes completely after 6 h of incubation.

Construction of AuNPs/Cu,I-CD-based colorimetric sensor: Catalytic oxidation of TBHQ and the catalytic inhibition of HCHO.

Various research groups have been paying huge attention to tune the metal states in metal-carbon hybrid materials. Herein, a mixed-valence copper-iodine co-doped carbon dots (Cu,I-CDs, Cu2+/Cu+/Cu0) were prepared through a one-step hydrothermal method, which displayed an intrinsic reduction performance under given conditions. Moreover, AuNPs/Cu,I-CDs composite was fabricated using Cu,I-CDs as reductant and stabilizer. Among them, the AuNPs/Cu,I-CDs composite exhibited the highest oxidase- and peroxidase-like activities, which was used for the colorimetric detection of tert-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ), with the detection limits of 23.45 µg/kg. Interestingly, the catalytic oxidation of TBHQ to oxidized TBHQ (TQ) could be inhibited by formaldehyde (HCHO). Therefore, a colorimetric sensor for HCHO was developed with the detection limit 0.335 mg/L. The catalytic mechanism for TBHQ was investigated by employing scavengers of different reactive species, indicating the significant roles of •O2- in the catalytic process. Therefore, it is believed that the as-prepared AuNPs/Cu,I-CDs nanozyme has promising potential applications in the fields of biomedicine and food safety.

A multifunctional nanozyme-based enhanced system for tert-butyl hydroquinone assay by surface-enhanced Raman scattering.

An Au-based nanozyme composite (AuNPs/Cu,I) was constructed by using Cu,I-doped carbon dots (Cu,I-CDs) as the reducing agent as well as the nanozyme. Notably, AuNPs/Cu,I nanozyme not only possessed the intrinsic activity of mimicking enzymes of superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase at different conditions but was also employed as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) enhancer. The combination of Cu,I-CDs and AuNPs promoted the electron transferability, leading to increased peroxidase-like activity and superoxide-like activity. Compared to the individual Cu,I-CDs and AuNPs nanozyme, the AuNPs/Cu,I composite demonstrated promising peroxidase-like activity by transferring electrons instead of generating OH. Interestingly, the multienzyme-like activity of AuNPs/Cu,I nanozyme could be finely tuned by changing the composition of Cu0/Cu+ and Au. The tert-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ) as the substrate could be catalyzed with AuNPs/Cu,I nanozyme to produce red substances, resulting in a significant Raman enhancement effect at the same time, showing good linear range from 0.11 to 10 mg L-1. Overall, the current investigation provides a flexible and controllable way to design multifunctional nanozymes along with the Raman enhancement strategy based on the catalysis of nanozyme.

Nanozymes used for antimicrobials and their applications.

Bacterial infection-related diseases have been growing year-by-year rapidly and raising health problems globally. The exploitation of novel, high efficiency, and bacteria-binding antibacterial agents are extremely need. As far as now, the most extensive treatment is restricted to antibiotics, which may be overused and misused, leading to increased multidrug resistance. Antibiotics abuse, as well as antibiotic-resistance of bacteria, is a global challenge in the current situation. It is highly recommended and necessary to develop novel bactericide to kill the bacteria effectively without causing further resistance development and biosafety issues. Nanozymes, inorganic nanostructures with intrinsic enzymatic activities, have attracted more and more interest from the researchers owing to their exceptional advantages. Compared to natural enzymes, nanozymes can destroy many Gram-positive, Gram-negative bacteria, which builds an important bridge between biology and nanotechnology. As the potent nanoantibiotics, nanozymes have exciting broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties and negligible biotoxicities. And we summarized and highlighted the recent advances on nanozymes including its antibacterial mechanism and applications. Finally, challenges and limitations for the further improvement of the antibacterial activity are covered to provide future directions for the use of engineered nanozymes with enhanced antibacterial function.

A double carbon dot system composed of N, Cl-doped carbon dots and N, Cu-doped carbon dots as peroxidase mimics and as fluorescent probes for the determination of hydroquinone by fluorescence.

A fluorescence method is described for the determination of hydroquinone based on the double carbon dot system as peroxide mimic enzymes and fluorescent probes. Deep eutectic solvent (DES)-based fluorescent carbon dots (N/Cl-CDs) and copper-doped carbon dots (N/Cu-CDs) were prepared by the hydrothermal method. Both carbon dots were characterized with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy. N/Cl-CDs displayed intrinsic peroxidase-like activity and were able to catalyze the oxidation of hydroquinone (H2Q) to p-benzoquinone (BQ) along with an intermediate. The intermediate (BQ) did quench the N/Cu-CD photoluminescence (PL) at 450 nm using an excitation wavelength of 347 nm. Based on the results, a fluorescent platform is proposed for the determination of hydroquinone with a promising determination limit of 0.04 µM (linear range, 1.0-75 µM). The recoveries of spiked water samples were in the range 89.5-105.1%, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 1.5-2.9%. This method was applied to determination of H2Q in environmental water samples. Graphical abstract A fluorescence method was established for the determination of hydroquinone based on the double carbon dot system as peroxide-mimic enzymes and fluorescent probes. Chlorine-doped carbon dots (N/Cl-CDs) derived from deep eutectic solvent (DES) displayed intrinsic peroxidase-like activity, and were able to catalyze the oxidation of hydroquinone (H2Q) to p-benzoquinone (BQ) along with an intermediate. The intermediate (BQ) did quench the N/Cu-CD photoluminescence (PL). This method was applied to H2Q in environmental water samples.

Dual emission carbon dots as enzyme mimics and fluorescent probes for the determination of o-phenylenediamine and hydrogen peroxide.

A selective and sensitive fluorescent technique is proposed to determine o-phenylenediamine (OPD) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). This is carried out by utilizing enzyme mimics carbon dots (N/Cl-CDs) and fluorescent probe carbon dots (N/Zn-CDs). The synthesized N/Cl-CDs and N/Zn-CDs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry techniques. The particle size of synthesized carbon dots was found to be 4.1 ± 1.09 nm and 3.3 ± 1.82 nm for N/Cl-CDs and N/Zn-CDs, respectively. The N/Cl-CDs showed a noticeable intrinsic peroxidase-like activity, which could catalyze the oxidization of OPD by H2O2 to form the yellow colored product 2,3-diaminophenazine (DAP). The N/Zn-CD fluorescence was quenched directly by DAP through the inner filter effect (IFE). As a result, a novel double carbon dot system as enzyme mimics and fluorescent investigations to recognize OPD and H2O2 was obtained. The N/Cl-CDs were synthesized by deep eutectic solvent (DES) source and chamber electric furnace. N/Zn-CDs were also synthesized with the quantum yield of 27.52% through the tubular furnace technique using ethylenediamine tetra acetic acid disodium zinc salt and ascorbic acid as precursors. The detection limits were found to be 0.58 µM and 0.27 µM for OPD and H2O2, respectively. The nanoprobe was applied to real sample analysis, which showed excellent recovery in the range of 95.8-103.5% and 98.6-107.3% for OPD and H2O2, respectively. The dual emission carbon dots as enzyme mimic and fluorescent probe sensing system opens a new platform for determination of H2O2 and OPD in real samples. Graphical abstract Schematic illustration of the preparation of double carbon dots and determination process of o-phenylenediamine (OPD) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).

Synthesis of N, Zn-doped carbon dots for the detection of Fe3+ ions and bactericidal activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.

A simple and one-step microwave digestion method was utilized to synthesize the highly photoluminescent glucosamine derived nitrogen and zinc doped carbon dots (N, Zn-CDs) with a bluish-green luminescence property. The synthesized N, Zn-CDs inherited a good photoluminescence property with a quantum yield of 74% and which were characterized by XPS, XRD, TEM, FT-IR, UV-Vis, and fluorescence spectrometry. More importantly, N, Zn-CDs served as a fluorescence sensor for the detection of Fe3+ ions, under optimal conditions, a good linear relationship was established in the concentration range of 0.25-125 µM. Also, the experimental results showed the detection limit of N, Zn-CDs against Fe3+ was 0.15 µM, this could be a promising assay for sensing Fe3+ ions. Also, the role of zinc doping was explored by conducting the detection under similar experimental conditions in the absence of zinc, and reports revealed that the reason for high photoluminescence was due to the zinc doping. Along with the sensing application, our group had investigated the bactericidal property of synthesized N, Zn-CDs against gram-negative (Escherichia coli), and gram-positive pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus). N, Zn-CDs displayed good bactericidal activity against both pathogens under light conditions, but Escherichia coli, even under the dark condition proved its activity. Besides, the morphology of both the strains was displayed before and after the treatment via a scanning electron microscopic images. Also, a plausible mechanism for bactericidal activity was also explained. The reported synthesis method could provide a novel approach for the design of high photoluminescent N, Zn-CDs with good sensing and bactericidal property towards Fe3+ ions, gram-negative and positive bacterial strains.

High photoluminescent nitrogen and zinc doped carbon dots for sensing Fe3+ ions and temperature.

High photoluminescent quantum yield carbon nanomaterials doped with heteroatoms are of profound attention in various fields like bio-imaging, chemical sensors and electronics. Among all heteroatoms, zinc is one of the low toxic significant elements and also involves in various electron-transfer processes. These properties are added advantages to utilize zinc as a dopant in CDs synthesis. In this investigation, our group reports a one-step microwave digestion method to synthesize nitrogen and Zinc doped carbon dots (N, Zn-CDs). The optical properties of N, Zn-CDs were investigated using UV-Vis and fluorescence spectrophotometry and also the N, Zn-CDs structural features were studied with other characterization tools like XPS, TEM, EDX, FTIR and XRD. N, Zn-CDs inherent the appreciable photoluminescent quantum yields about 63.28%. And the synthesized N, Zn-CDs utilized for detection of Fe3+ and temperature. The observed results are promising and exhibited the detection limit of 0.027 µM. Also, the proposed sensing system was successfully adopted for the detection of Fe3+ in the river and circulating water samples for the practical applications and satisfactory results are observed. The current synthesis methodology and sensing potential might open up a new prospect to develop potential applications in environmental monitoring.

Highly photoluminescent N, P doped carbon quantum dots as a fluorescent sensor for the detection of dopamine and temperature.

In recent times, fluorescent carbon quantum dots (CQDs) as an optical sensor have attained massive attention owing to their excellent optical properties. In current investigation, our group presented an easy and economical methodology to synthesize the nitrogen and phosphorous doped carbon quantum dots (N, P doped CQDs) for sensing dopamine (DA) and temperature in aqueous medium. The synthesized CQDs were characterized by using XRD, XPS, TEM, UV-Vis, FT-IR and fluorescence techniques. The N, P doped CQDs were synthesized via one-step microwave digestion method by using citric acid, ethylenediamine and urea phosphate as precursors. This method established the noble water solubility, good optical performances and fluorescence thermosensitivity of N, P doped CQDs. Also, N, P doped CQDs demonstrated a wide linear range of 10-500 µM (R2 = 0.994) and offered an electrifying detection limit of 0.021 µM for quantifying the dopamine. Moreover, this sensor possessed a good sensitivity, reversibility and linearity in the range of 10-70 °C. In addition, the CQDs sensing system repel the interference from probable foreign substances in real sample analysis, and attained good recoveries, which revealed the tremendous selectivity and adequate accuracy of the carbon quantum dots for sensing dopamine. The proposed N, P doped CQDs are simple as well as effective optical nanosensor and clasps venerable potential to widen the applications in analysis of biomolecules and other areas.

Enhanced removal and detection of benzo[a]pyrene in environmental water samples using carbon dots-modified magnetic nanocomposites.

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have already proven their efficacy in the disposal of a wide array of environmental contaminants in recent years. However, the difficulties in dispersibility and agglomeration of MNPs arising from its own physical and chemical properties limit its large-scale application. Herein, we fabricated the carbon dots/fatty acid-coated MNPs (CDs/C11-Fe3O4) through a facile and simple method. To utilize the advantage of carbon dots, these limitations can be mitigated by diminishing the size of MNPs and modifying the surface of MNPs. Detailed characterization including VSM, FT-IR, XPS and TEM conformed that the higher adsorption capacity of CDs/C11-Fe3O4 is mainly attributed to low average size (<8 nm), which is obviously lower than that of C11-Fe3O4 (about 13 nm). The CDs/C11-Fe3O4 showed higher adsorption performance than that of C11-Fe3O4 nanocomposites (76.23 ng mg-1 for CDs/C11-Fe3O4 and 59.89 ng mg-1 for C11-Fe3O4). The adsorption processes of BaP on both C11-Fe3O4 and CDs/C11-Fe3O4 nanocomposites are exothermic, and well simulated by pseudo-second-order model. Moreover, the CDs/C11-Fe3O4 were also applied for the detection of BaP in large-volume water samples, which satisfies the China environmental protection standard, are promising candidates for water remediation.

Cytotoxicity study of Piper nigrum seed mediated synthesized SnO2 nanoparticles towards colorectal (HCT116) and lung cancer (A549) cell lines.

Different sized tetragonal tin oxide nanoparticles (SnO2 NPs) were synthesized using Piper nigrum seed extract at three different calcination temperatures (300, 500, 900°C) and these nanoparticles (NPs) were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry (FT-IR). The optical properties were studied using UV-Vis and photoluminescence (PL) spectrophotometers. The generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was monitored by using a fluorescence spectrophotometer and fluorescence microscope. The cytotoxicity of the synthesized SnO2 NPs was checked against the colorectal (HCT116) and lung (A549) cancer cell lines and the study results show that SnO2 NPs were toxic against cancer cell lines depending on their size and dose. IC50 values of SnO2 NPs having average particle sizes of 8.85±3.5, 12.76±3.9 and 29.29±10.9nm are 165, 174 and 208µgL-1 against HCT116, while these values are 135, 157 and 187µgL-1 against A549 carcinoma cell lines, respectively. The generated ROS were responsible for the cytotoxicity of SnO2 NPs to the studied cancer cells and smaller size NPs generated more ROS and hence showed higher cytotoxicity over larger size NPs. The results of this study suggest that the synthesized stable nanoparticles could be a potent therapeutic agent towards cancerous cell lines.

Casein mediated green synthesis and decoration of reduced graphene oxide.

This research is mainly focusing on one-step biosynthesis of graphene from graphene oxide and its stabilization using naturally occurring milk protein, casein. The synthesis of casein reduced graphene oxide (CRGO) was completed within 7h under reflux at 90°C with the formation of few layered fine graphene nanosheets. UV-Vis, XRD, XPS analysis data revealed the reduction process of the graphene oxide. Results of FT-IR, HPLC and TEM analysis have shown that the ensuing material consists of graphene decorated with casein molecules. Aspartic acid and glutamic acid residue present in casein molecules are responsible for the reduction of graphene oxide.