Aim: This work aimed to develop Tinospora cordifolia stem-derived carbon dots (TCSCD) for cancer cell imaging, free radical scavenging and metal sensing applications. Method: The TCSCDs were synthesized by a simple, one-step, and ecofriendly hydrothermal carbonization method and characterized for their optical properties, morphology, hydrodynamic size, surface functionality, crystallinity, stability, bacterial biocompatibility, in vitro cellular imaging, free radical scavenging and metal sensing ability. Results: The TCSCDs exhibited excellent biocompatibility with dose-dependent bioimaging results in melanoma (B16F10) and cervical cancer (SiHa) cell lines. They exerted good free radical scavenging, Fe³⁺ sensing, bacterial biocompatibility, photostability, colloidal dispersion stability and thermal stability. Conclusion: The results reflect the potential of TCSCDs for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications.

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Vol. 16, No. 23

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History

Received 19 May 2021

Accepted 14 July 2021

Published online 17 September 2021

Published in print October 2021

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Keywords

Supplementary data

To view the supplementary data that accompany this paper please visit the journal website at: www.futuremedicine.com/doi/suppl/10.2217/nnm-2021-0190

Author contributions

D Mohapatra contributed to the conceptualization, planning, designing, experimental work, data acquisition, analysis, presentation and manuscript writing. Md. B Alam, R Pratap and V Pandey guided the experimental work, contributed to the experiment, and reviewed and edited the manuscript. PK Dubey, AS Parmar and AN Sahu contributed to the conceptualization, investigation, technical support, manuscript review, editing, drafting and revision.

Acknowledgments

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 instrumental and infrastructural facilities. The microbiology facility offered by the Department of Microbiology, Institute of Medical Science, BHU, Varanasi, India, is also greatly acknowledged. The corresponding author, AN Sahu, is thankful to Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India, New Delhi, India, for providing the funding for exploring phytochemical and pharmacological evaluations of bioactivity guided fractions of medicinal plants.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The financial support for this work was provided as a scholarship by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), government of India. Funding for exploring phytochemical and pharmacological evaluations of bioactivity guided fractions of medicinal plants was provided by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India, New Delhi, India (sanction order no. BT/PR25498/NER/95/1223/2017). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

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