Cefminox sodium carbon nanodots for treatment and bacterial detection of bloodstream infection

Cefminox sodium carbon nanodots were synthesized via a rapid one-step microwave method using cefminox sodium as sole precursor. The prepared cefminox sodium carbon nanodots had good water solubility and the diameter was concentrated at 1.29 ± 0.40 nm with relative uniform. They exhibited fluorescence excitation-dependent property, of which optimal excitation wavelength was ∼ 390 nm, and optimal emission wavelength was ∼ 465 nm. As retained part of the structure and antibacterial properties of cefminox sodium, cefminox sodium carbon nanodots had low biological toxicity and sufficient antibacterial activity against bacteria in vitro. In vivo experiments demonstrated cefminox sodium carbon nanodots could exert a good therapeutic effect on acute bloodstream infection. In the mixed solution (Escherichia coli, blood and cefminox sodium carbon nanodots), the fluorescent intensity exhibited quadratic functional relationship with the concentration of Escherichia coli. The detection concentration range for E. coli was 0.5 × 106 ∼ 1 × 109 CFU/mL, and the detection limit was 3.7 × 105 CFU/mL. It suggested cefminox sodium carbon nanodots can rapidly and quantitatively detect the number of Escherichia coli in blood while effectively treating bloodstream infection. Due to the long period of clinical detection time (about 1–5 days or more) for bacterial counts in the blood of patients, this method provides a new strategy for rapid clinical treatment and effective monitoring of the degree of infection in patients.