Bioinspired Carbon Quantum Dots: An Antibiofilm Agents

Carbon dots, very tiny carbon material with various surface passivations, have emerged as a new class of nanomaterials for various applications. Herein, we describe a simple, economical, and green approach for the synthesis of colloidal luminescent carbon dots (C-dots) by solvothermal method from fruit juice of Citrus limetta, an abundantly available plant in Asian countries. The existence of C-dots was confirmed by X-ray Diffraction and High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy studies. The C-dots size was observed to be 2-4 nm. We further evaluated the efficacy of C-dots to inhibit the attachment of Candida albicans MTCC 227, and biofilm formation on the polystyrene surfaces. The C-dots have effectively inhibited the attachment and formation of biofilm in Candida albicans at very low concentrations, which is hitherto unattempted. The ability of C-dots to inhibit biofilm formation may contribute to diverse applications of C-dots in biomedical field.