Biofunctional and ecotoxicological assessment of Rosa indica derived nitrogen-doped Carbon Dots: A new frontier for sustainable nanomaterials

Abstract

Carbon Dots (CDs) have emerged as a promising material for a variety of therapeutic applications. Nitrogen doped Rosa indica (R. indica) fluorescent Carbon dots (N-RiCDs) were prepared by the utilization of pyrolysis method. Ultraviolet–visible, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning microscope, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and raman spectroscopy revealed the optical and structural characteristics of the synthesized N-RiCDs. In vitro anti-oxidant assessment including free radical scavenging activity (DPPH assay) and phosphomolybdate assay showed EC₅₀ value of 45.28 μg/mL and 111.7 μg/mL respectively. In vitro anti-inflammatory assessment was performed by the utilization of egg albumin denaturation (EA) assay and anti-hemolytic assay. An EC₅₀ value of 36.05 μg/mL and 27.64 μg/mL was reported for protein denaturation and hemolysis protection capability respectively. Both anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities were significantly increased in a dose-dependent manner. The photocatalytic dye degradation efficiency was observed higher (43.33 %–53 %) for phenol red under visible light irradiation while methylene blue degradation efficiency was observed higher (62.33 %–74.33 %) under UV irradiation. Toxicological profiling showed promising results including phytotoxicity and in vitro sperm motility assessment with significant minimal adverse effects. Low cytotoxicity was observed toward HepG2 cancer cells. In vivo studies revealed the mild acute toxicity in broiler chickens up to 10 mg/kg of N-RiCDs. This study proved that under controlled conditions, the N-RiCDs can be further scrutinized for potential clinical and environmental implementations.