Poly(Vinylamine) Derived N-Doped C-Dots with Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Activities

Abstract

Nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N-doped C-dots) was synthesized by using poly(vinyl amine) (PVAm) as a nitrogen source and citric acid (CA) as a carbon source via the hydrothermal method. Various weight ratios of CA and PVAm (CA:PVAm) were used to synthesize N-doped C-dots. The N-doped C-dots revealed emission at 440 nm with excitation at 360 nm and were found to increase the fluorescence intensity with an increase in the amount of PVAm. The blood compatibility studies revealed no significant hemolysis for N-doped C-dots that were prepared at different ratios of CA:PVAm for up to 500 μg/mL concentration with the hemolysis ratio of 1.96% and the minimum blood clotting index of 88.9%. N-doped C-dots were found to be more effective against Gram-positive bacteria than Gram-negative bacteria, with the highest potency on Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis). The increase in the weight ratio of PVAm in feed during C-dots preparation from 1 to 3 leads to a decrease of the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) value from 6.25 to 0.75 mg/mL for B. subtilis. Antibiofilm ability of N-doped C-dots prepared by 1:3 ratio of CA:PVAm was found to reduce %biofilm inhibition and eradication- by more than half, at 0.78 mg/mL for E. coli and B. subtilis generated biofilms and almost destroyed at 25 mg/mL concentrations.