Biogenic synthesis of N-doped carbon dots from S. cumini seeds for prostate cancer biomarker citrate detection, its live cancer cell imaging

Dongwei Zhu; Jindong Dai; Jue Jia; Thangamani Kanagaraj; Kanagaraj Rajalakshmi; Selvaraj Muthusamy; Lina Geng; Guoyue Yuan

doi:10.1016/j.saa.2024.125568

Biogenic synthesis of N-doped carbon dots from S. cumini seeds for prostate cancer biomarker citrate detection, its live cancer cell imaging

Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2024 Dec 14:329:125568. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2024.125568. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Dongwei Zhu¹, Jindong Dai², Jue Jia¹, Thangamani Kanagaraj², Kanagaraj Rajalakshmi³, Selvaraj Muthusamy⁴, Lina Geng⁵, Guoyue Yuan⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, PR China; Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, PR China.
² Department of Immunology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, and School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, PR China.
³ Department of Immunology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, and School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, PR China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁴ Department of Immunology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, and School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, PR China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁵ Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University, Zhangjiakou, Hebei 075000, PR China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁶ Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, PR China; Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, PR China. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 39706072
DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2024.125568

Abstract

Citrate is a potential biomarker for early stage detection of prostate cancer (PC), its concentration significantly dropped to 2-20 mM in PC patients. Herein, a cheap, simple, and reliable citrate sensor was proposed based on the biogenic synthesis of nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N-CDs) derived from the biowaste of Syzygiumcumini (S. cumini) seeds. The prepared N-CDs were characterized by TEM, FT-IR and spectral studies. The average size of the N-CDs was found to be 2.4 nm, the presence of -OH and -NH₂ functional groups on the surface of N-CDs was confirmed by FT-IR analysis. The N-CDs possess the highest emission at 414 nm and cause quenching after reacting with citrate, which is due to the possible hydrogen bonding interactions between the probe and citrate. The probe expressed the lowest limit of detection of 3.5 nM, high selectivity, high interfering ability (1000-fold), provided a stable response at 5 min of reaction time, good biocompatibility, and delivered a contrast bioimage with different concentrations of citrate. The N-CDs were utilized to detect citrate in human urine samples, obtained good recovery results, and validated with the high-performance liquid chromatography method.

Keywords: Carbon dots; Citrate sensor; Fluorescent bioimaging; Nitrogen doped carbon dots; Prostate cancer biomarker.