Synthesis, characterization and biocompatibility studies of carbon quantum dots from Phoenix dactylifera

Abstract

In the present study, Carbon Quantum Dots (CQDs) were synthesized from Phoenix dactylifera (Date palm fruit) using microwave-assisted pyrolysis and were characterized for its various properties. The synthesized CQD sample exhibited a narrow absorbance peak at 270 nm in UV-Vis spectrum that indicated generation of narrow sized particles. The FTIR analysis of the crude CQDs and dialysed sample revealed the various functional groups involved in the formation of CQDs. TEM data revealed the nature of CQDs to be quasi-spherical and spatially distributed. Biocompatibility of the CQDs was studied using various model systems. CQDs displayed no cytotoxic and anti-clonogenic property when exposed to WRL-68 cell line whereas a slight toxicity was evident in HT1080 post 24 h of incubation suggesting the tremendous potential of the CQDs in the synergistic killing of cancer cells. Phytotoxicity assessment in four different seedlings revealed the non-toxic nature of CQDs. Further these CQDs were found to possess high biocompatibility imposing no inhibition in microbial growth and zilch effect on the development of zebrafish embryos. Thus these CQDs can find immense potential applications in fields of biomedicine as biomolecule detection, drug carriers, fluorescent tracers and in controlling the drug release.

Recent Advances on Synthesis and Potential Applications of Carbon Quantum Dots

“…This method resulted in a quicker reaction with a higher selective yield and energy. As a result, when compared to other existing heating methods, this method offered rapid synthesis, eco-friendly, an energy and time saving method, minimal impurity, size and temperature regulation with enhanced safety, good reproducibility, and excellent control over reaction conditions that all resulted in impressive CQDs' synthesis (Tungare et al, 2020). A simple microwave pyrolysis method was reported for the production of CQDs by mixing poly(ethylene-glycol) and a saccharide in water, which formed a clear solution that later was heated it in a microwave (Zhu et al, 2009).…”

Toxicity Mitigation of Textile Dye Reactive Blue 4 by Hairy Roots of Helianthus annuus and Testing Its Effect in In Vivo Model Systems

“…It has been widely used as an effective biomarker in environmental toxicology. Zebrafish embryo serves as an alternative to the higher vertebrate model for which ethical consideration has become more contentious [ 32 ], thus gaining immense popularity in revealing the repercussion of natural or man-made chemicals [ 17 ]. In the FET test, control embryos showed a normal growth pattern, while a constant abnormal hatching pattern was observed in the case of test samples from 30 ppm to 110 ppm.…”

“…The embryos exposed from 24 to 96 h (every 24 h) were used for toxicity and biochemical analyses. The embryos exposed to the untreated and treated dye were evaluated for hatching, mortality, tail malformations, heartbeat, coagulation, malformation of somites, development of eyes, pigmentation, and edemas [ 16 , 17 ]. All the experiments were conducted in triplicate.…”

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“…The carbon cores of CQDs are non-toxic, however, the modification method and applied dosage will affect their toxicity. For instance, when the concentration of CQDs is higher than 50 μg /mL, it will cause obvious toxicity 112 . Among them, the cytotoxicity of CQDs modified by neutral groups such as PEG is the least.…”