Biomass derived carbon dots with antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties for the treatment of wound healing

We report the synthesis of multifunctional carbon dots (PAPBCDs) via a one-step hydrothermal method, and evaluated their therapeutic efficacy in wound healing in vivo using a Staphylococcus aureus-infected wound mouse model. The multifunctional carbon dots (CDs) were derived from biomass-based polysaccharide (PAP) and betaine (B), and retained the antioxidant and antibacterial activities, respectively, of their starting precursors. In addition to possessing favorable biocompatibility in cytotoxicity studies, the antibacterial activity of the PAPBCDs was 99.38% against Gram-negative bacteria and 90.80% against Gram-positive bacteria, respectively, suggesting that the betaine-derived quaternary ammonium groups in the PAPBCDs were able to electrostatically disrupt bacterial cell membranes leading to pathogen inactivation. ROS scavenging studies demonstrated that the PAPBCDs could effectively scavenge hydroxyl radicals, suggesting that the PAPBCDs could remove intracellular ROS and protect wound tissue from oxidative stress. In vivo studies using mouse models indicated that PAPBCDs could accelerate S. aureus-infected wound healing. These findings offer some interesting ideas for how to design of effective nanomaterials to treat wound infections, and suggest that multifunctional carbon-dot based materials may play a therapeutic role in tissue regeneration and healing.