ArticleMikrochimica acta2026
Cerium-doped carbon dots for multifunctional biomedical applications: enhanced heavy metal sensing, antioxidant-driven wound healing, and RAFT polymer-mediated improved gene complexation capability.
Article in Mikrochimica acta, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Highly fluorescent cerium-doped carbon dots (Ce-CDs) were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal process using citric acid, urea, and cerous nitrate hexahydrate. Cerium incorporation markedly enhanced the fluorescence intensity and introduced a unique time-dependent colour evolution from dark green to red. The Ce-CDs exhibited selective heavy metal ion sensing behaviour, where Hg²⁺ caused an increase in absorbance intensity along with a blue shift of the absorption maximum, whereas Cd²⁺ and Pb²⁺ induced pronounced absorbance quenching. Beyond sensing, Ce-CDs demonstrated superior antioxidant activity in 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assays compared to CDs, reflecting the contribution of the Ce³⁺/Ce⁴⁺ redox couple. This enhanced radical scavenging capability translated into improved biological performance. In vitro scratch assays using L929 fibroblast cells revealed complete wound closure within 24 h at Ce-CD concentrations of 50 and 100 µg/mL, while undoped CDs failed to achieve full healing under identical conditions. In addition, Ce-CDs showed significantly stronger antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli. To enable gene complexation capability, an amino acid-rich RAFT (Reversible Addition-Fragmentation Chain-Transfer) polymer, poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate-phenylalanine-NH₂) (PHPA-NH₂), was conjugated onto Ce-CDs via carbodiimide coupling. Successful conjugation was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy and a surface charge reversal from - 16.1 mV to + 40.5 mV. The resulting PHPA-NH₂@Ce-CDs efficiently condensed DNA at weight ratios ≥ 10:1, as confirmed by gel electrophoresis. Overall, cerium doping and polymer functionalization synergistically transform carbon dots into a multifunctional nanoplatform with strong potential for heavy metal sensing, wound healing, antibacterial therapy, and potential non-viral gene delivery platform applications.
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