Bioengineered dual fluorescent carbon nano dots from Indian long pepper leaves for multifaceted environmental and health utilities

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 30; no. 18; pp. 52182 - 52208
• Main Authors: Mohapatra, Debadatta, Pratap, Ravi, Pandey, Vivek, Shreya, Singh, Naik, Gaurav Gopal, Mandal, Subhash C., Otimenyin, Sunday O., Dubey, Pawan K., Parmar, Avanish S., Sahu, Alakh N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-04-2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animals; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Biocompatibility; Bioengineering; Breast cancer; Carbon; Carbon - chemistry; Cell Line; Cervical cancer; Cervical carcinoma; Copper; Cytotoxicity; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Electrons; Emissions; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Excitation; Excitation spectra; Fluorescence; Fluorescent Dyes - chemistry; Fourier transforms; Free radicals; Functional groups; High resolution electron microscopy; Humans; Infrared spectroscopy; Medical imaging; Melanoma; Mice; Micrography; Mie scattering; pH effects; Photoelectron Spectroscopy; Photoelectrons; Photomicrographs; Piper; Piper longum; Quantum Dots - chemistry; Research Article; Scavenging; Spectrum analysis; Synthesis; Thermal stability; Thin layer chromatography; Toxicity; Transmission electron microscopy; Ultraviolet spectra; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; X ray photoelectron spectroscopy; X-ray diffraction; sensing; Cu; Free radical scavenging; Carbon dots; Indian long pepper; Cancer cell bioimaging; Cu2+ sensing
• ISSN: 1614-7499; 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-25887-9

In this article, we present the synthesis of
Piper longum
leaves–derived ethanolic carbon dots (PLECDs) using the most simplistic environmentally friendly solvothermal carbonization method. The PLECDs fluoresced pink color with maximum emission at 670 nm at 397 nm excitation. Additionally, the dried PLECDs dissolved in water showed green fluorescence with higher emission at 452 nm at 370 nm excitation. The UV spectra showed peaks in the UV region (271.25 nm and 320.79 nm) and a noticeable tail in the visible region, signifying the efficient synthesis of nano-sized carbon particles and the Mie scattering effect. Various functional groups (–OH, –N–H, –C–H, –C = C, –C–N, and –C–O) were identified using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Its nanocrystalline property was revealed by the sharp peaks in the X-ray diffraction (XRD). High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) photomicrograph displayed a roughly spherical structure with a mean size of 2.835 nm. The energy dispersive X-ray (EDAX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed the elemental abundance of C, O, and N. The high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) fingerprint of PLECDs showed an altered pattern than its precursor (
Piper longum
leaves ethanolic extract or PLLEE). The PLECDs sensed Cu
2+
selectively with a limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.063 μM and 0.193 μM, respectively. It showed excellent cytotoxicity toward MDA-MB-231 (human breast cancer), SiHa (human cervical carcinoma), and B16F10 (murine melanoma) cell lines with excellent in vitro bioimaging outcomes. It also has free radical scavenging activity. The PLECDs also showed outstanding bacterial biocompatibility, pH-dependent fluorescence stability, photostability, physicochemical stability, and thermal stability.