Preparation and Properties of Cationic Carbon Dot Antimicrobial Agents
LI Qianqian1, LIU Liyuan2, ZHANG Wenli2, LIU Yong3, CHEN Lin2,*, ZHANG Li3,*
1 The Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, China; 2 MOE Key Laboratory of Interface Science and Engineering in Advanced Materials, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China; 3 Shanxi Bethune Hospital (Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences), Taiyuan 030032, China
Abstract: Cationic carbon dots(CCDs)show good antimicrobial effects because they can easily interact with negatively charged cell membranes by electrostatic interaction owing to their positively charged surface, destroying bacterial structures and leading to bacterial death. In this work, CCDs were prepared by using one-step hydrothermal method, and using ethylenediamine(EDA, rich in amino terminal group) and glucose as raw materials. The structure and surface charge of CCDs were optimized by regulating the concentration of EDA and glucose, the reaction time, and the reaction temperature. Escherichia coli(E.coli) and Staphylococcus aureus(S.aureus) were selected to characterize the antimicrobial properties. Results showed that CCDs with relatively high surface potential(+38.20 mV) could be synthesized by adopting the optimum reaction condition(0.5 mol/L EDA concentration, 0.3 mol/L of glucose concentration, and reacting in 60 mL water at 200 ℃ for 4 h). The CCDs had particle sizes of (8.07±1.12) nm, minimum inhibitory concentrations for E.coli and S.aureus of both 512 μg/mL, as well as minimum bactericidal concentrations for E.coli and S.aureus of both 1 024 μg/mL, showing satisfactory antimicrobial performance. When the concentration of CCDs was less than 2 048 μg/mL, the cell survival rate was greater than 92%, demonstrating their low cytotoxicity.
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