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Tinospora cordifolia Leaves Derived Carbon dots for Cancer Cell Bioimaging, Free radical Scavenging, and Fe3+ Sensing Applications

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Abstract

Herein, we report the fabrication of Tinospora cordifolia leaves-derived carbon dots (TCLCDs) from aqueous extract of leaves as carbon source via simple, environmentally friendly, hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) technique. The synthesized TCLCDs were characterized for their physicochemical properties and further explored for in-vitro cancer cell bioimaging, radical scavenging, and metal ion sensing. The synthesized TCLCDs showed excitation-dependent emission property with maximum emission at 435 nm under the excitation of 350 nm. The High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) results revealed a roughly spherical shape with an average diameter of 5.47 nm. The diffused ring pattern of Selected Area Electron Diffraction (SAED) and halo diffraction pattern of X-ray diffraction (XRD) disclosed their amorphous nature. The Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) showed the existence of C, N, and O. The Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed the presence of -OH, -NH, -CN, and -CH groups. The TCLCDs showed excellent cellular biocompatibility with dose-dependent bioimaging results in melanoma (B16F10) and cervical cancer (SiHa) cell lines. Also, they exhibited excellent scavenging of free radicals with an IC50 value of 0.524 mg/mL & selective Fe3+ ion sensing with a detection limit of 0.414 µM. Further, they exerted excellent bacterial biocompatibility, photostability, and thermal stability. The overall results reflected their potential for in-vitro cancer cell bioimaging, free radical scavenging, and selective Fe3+ ion sensing.

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Availability of Data and Material

All data recorded and generated during this research are included in this article.

Code Availability (Software Application)

The data were generated using MS office package, 21 days free trial version of Origin Pro 2021 (Microcal Software, Inc., Northampton, Northampton, MA, USA), and ImageJ software (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD).

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Acknowledgment

The authors are thankful to the Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering & Technology, IIT (BHU); Department of Physics, IIT (BHU); Centre for Genetics Disorders, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, and Central Instrument Facility, IIT (BHU), Varanasi, India for providing infrastructural and instrumental facilities. The facilities for microbiology work provided by the Department of Microbiology, IMS (BHU), Varanasi, India, are also greatly acknowledged.

Funding

The financial support for this work was provided as a scholarship to Debadatta Mohapatra by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), government of India. Author Alakh N. Sahu is thankful to Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India, New Delhi, India, for providing the funding (Sanction order No. BT/PR25498/NER/95/1223/2017) for exploring phytochemical and pharmacological evaluations of bioactivity guided fractions of medicinal plants of Tripura. Author Ashish K. Agrawal is thankful to Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi, India, for providing the funding (File No. SRG/2019/000150) for exploring the smart exosomes for drug delivery.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Phytomedicine Research Lab., Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering & Technology, IIT (BHU), Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi, 221005, India

    Debadatta Mohapatra, Ashish K. Agrawal & Alakh N. Sahu

  2. Department of Physics, IIT (BHU), Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi, 221005, India

    Ravi Pratap & Avanish S. Parmar

  3. Centre for Genetics Disorders, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi, 221005, India

    Vivek Pandey & Pawan K. Dubey

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  1. Debadatta Mohapatra
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  2. Ravi Pratap
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  7. Alakh N. Sahu
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Contributions

Debadatta Mohapatra performed most experimental works, data collection, analysis, validation, interpretation, and wrote the original manuscript. Ravi Pratap and Vivek Pandey contributed to the experimentation, reviewed and edited the manuscript. Alakh N. Sahu, Avanish S. Parmar, Ashish K. Agrawal, and Pawan K. Dubey contributed to supervision, technical support, manuscript review, and editing functions.

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Correspondence to Alakh N. Sahu.

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Mohapatra, D., Pratap, R., Pandey, V. et al. Tinospora cordifolia Leaves Derived Carbon dots for Cancer Cell Bioimaging, Free radical Scavenging, and Fe3+ Sensing Applications. J Fluoresc 32, 275–292 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10895-021-02846-6

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