Copper Doped Carbon Dots for Addressing Bacterial Biofilm Formation, Wound Infection, and Tooth Staining

Abstract

Oral infectious diseases and tooth staining, the main challenges of dental healthcare, are inextricably linked to microbial colonization and the formation of pathogenic biofilms. However, dentistry has so far still lacked simple, safe, and universal prophylactic options and therapy. Here, we report copper-doped carbon dots (Cu-CDs) that display enhanced catalytic (catalase-like, peroxidase-like) activity in the oral environment for inhibiting initial bacteria (Streptococcus mutans) adhesion and for subsequent biofilm eradication without impacting the surrounding oral tissues via oxygen (O 2 ) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Especially, Cu-CDs exhibit strong affinity for lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and peptidoglycans (PGN), thus conferring them with excellent antibacterial ability against Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli), such that they can prevent wound purulent infection and promoting rapid wound healing. Additionally, the Cu-CDs/H 2 O 2 system shows a better performance in tooth whitening, compared with results obtained with other alternatives, e.g., CDs and clinically used H 2 O 2 , particularly its negligible enamel and dentin destruction. It is anticipated that the biocompatible Cu-CDs presented in this work are a promising nano-mouthwash for eliminating oral pathogenic biofilms, prompting wound healing as well as tooth whitening, highlighting their significance in oral health management.

Heterojunction MnO2-nanosheet-decorated Ag nanowires with enhanced oxidase-like activity for the sensitive dual-mode detection of glutathione

“…The kinetic parameters of the Ag@MnO 2 nanoenzyme were determined based on the Michaelis kinetics model in this work. [32][33][34] The reaction systems were conducted in 0.1 M PBS solution ( pH 6.0) containing a series of TMB concentration (0.125-1.25 mM) in a 96-well microplate. Upon the addition of 10 μL of Ag@MnO 2 nanoenzyme (1 mg mL −1 ), the absorbance value of the oxTMB at 652 nm was monitored by a microplate reader every 30 s. Then, the initial velocity u at different TMB concentrations was calculated based on the changes in absorbance over time.…”

Copper-Doped Carbon Nanodots with Superior Photocatalysis, Directly Obtained from Chromium-Copper-Arsenic-Treated Wood Waste

“…The results were consistent with a previous study, in which the CDs pass through the insides of the cells and emit fluorescence, showing good bioimaging performance [ 7 ]. Copper-doped carbon dots have also been explored for use in oral infectious disease treatment because of their nontoxicity [ 41 ]. In summary, the synthesized CDs derived from waste CCA-treated wood have potential use as a great bioimaging reagent and friendly material for biomedical use.…”

Antibacterial and antibiofilm mechanisms of carbon dots: a review

“…Their ultra-small size and hydrophobic organic chains allow them to easily enter the substrate layer of the biofilm, and the abundant quaternary ammonium ions interact with the biofilm to disrupt the matrix structure of the biofilm. In addition, the Cu-doped carbon dots (Cu-CDs) for addressing bacterial biofilm formation, wound infection and dental staining were prepared by Liu et al , 100 which show satisfactory CAT-like activity and were able to effectively remove pathogenic bacterial biofilms by the short-term physical action of oxygen bubbles. The nanoscale Cu-CDs diffused naturally into the mature matrix without any hindrance.…”