Don’t dust off the dust! – A facile synthesis of graphene quantum dots derived from indoor dust towards their cytotoxicity and antibacterial activity

Abstract

We have attempted the synthesis of crystalline graphene quantum dots (GQDs) from indoor dust particles; a ubiquitous waste material with no practical applications. A simple and facile hydrothermal approach was used to convert indoor household dust into crystalline GQDs with an average particle size of 5.23 nm. Various spectroscopic techniques, such as XRD, FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, XPS, AFM, and TEM, were used to characterize the GQDs, which were then evaluated for their antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity. GQDs showed cytotoxic effects against two human breast epithelial adenocarcinoma cell lines MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 resulting in apoptosis-related changes on the cells. Amongst the four different pathogens tested, GQDs exhibited the highest antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa.