Issue 44, 2017

An active structure preservation method for developing functional graphitic carbon dots as an effective antibacterial agent and a sensitive pH and Al(iii) nanosensor

Abstract

Functional engineering is a crucial prerequisite for specific and wide applications of optical probes. In this study, we proposed a facile active structure preservation (ASP) method to directly develop new self-functional graphitic carbon dots (g-CDs) through a hydrothermal synthesis route by taking ciprofloxacin hydrochloride, an antibiotic belonging to a group of fluoroquinolone drugs, as an example. To retain the functional structures of the starting materials, the reaction temperature is intentionally controlled below the decomposition temperature of the reactants that hold the functional groups. As a proof of concept, we successfully prepared g-CDs with ciprofloxacin-like structures on its surface, as identified by mass spectrometric (MS) analysis. The as-prepared g-CDs not only exhibit effective antibacterial activity towards the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) and Escherichia coli (Gram-negative), but can also optically sense pH in the range from 5.02 to 9.91. Furthermore, the g-CDs can coordinate with aluminum ions to show a chelation-enhanced photoluminescence (CHEP) effect. These results indicate that the ASP method can be promising for engineering CDs with various properties.

Graphical abstract: An active structure preservation method for developing functional graphitic carbon dots as an effective antibacterial agent and a sensitive pH and Al(iii) nanosensor

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
28 Jūl. 2017
Accepted
16 Okt. 2017
First published
17 Okt. 2017

Nanoscale, 2017,9, 17334-17341

An active structure preservation method for developing functional graphitic carbon dots as an effective antibacterial agent and a sensitive pH and Al(III) nanosensor

P. Hou, T. Yang, H. Liu, Y. F. Li and C. Z. Huang, Nanoscale, 2017, 9, 17334 DOI: 10.1039/C7NR05539K

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