One-step hydrothermal approach to fabricate carbon dots from apple juice for imaging of mycobacterium and fungal cells

• The CDs are synthesized by hydrothermal method using apple juice as a precursor.
• The CDs exhibited bright blue fluorescence at excitation wavelength of 365 nm.
• The prepared CDs are in spherical and monodisperse with an average size of 4.5 ± 1.0 nm.
• The CDs used as fluorescent probes for M. tuberculosis, P. aeruginosa and M. oryzae cells.
• The CDs show biocompatibility and efficiently taken by the cells.

A facile green hydrothermal method was developed for the preparation of fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) using apple juice as a raw material. The synthesized fluorescent CDs were characterized by UV–vis, fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), dynamic light scattering (DLS), high resolution transmission electron microscopic (HR-TEM), life-time measurement and laser scanning confocal microscopic techniques. The CDs showed bright blue emission under UV-light (λex = 365 nm). The CDs were used as alternative biocompatible fluorescent probes for imaging of bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and fungal (Magnaporthe oryzae). It was shown that the prepared CDs had no toxic effect on the both cells lines (bacteria and fungal), indicating that the CDs did not inhibit growth of bacterial and fungal cells, which confirms that the CDs exhibit good biocompatibility.

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