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 7月 2017
Accepted
16 10月 2017
First published
17 10月 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

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements