Eco-friendly, bright luminescent carbon dots and their potential applications for detecting hypochlorous acid in water and live cell imaging

In this study, we utilized Agaricaceae, or mushrooms, as the carbon source for the hydrothermal production of multifunctional carbon dots (MCDs). The MCDs showed remarkable features such as bright blue fluorescence, exceptional biocompatibility, high quantum yield, and efficient biolabeling ability. Moreover, the MCDs displayed extraordinary specificity towards HOCl, and could detect it in deionized water with a lower detection limit of 3.38 nM. Additionally, the MCDs had potent antioxidant properties, low cytotoxicity, and high cell permeability, as confirmed by DPPH and reducing potential analysis. Furthermore, the MCD probe proved to be highly useful in various biological applications, including the detection of endogenous HOCl in the RAW 264.7 cell line and the assessment of PMA-induced endogenous HOCl formation using confocal imaging. The synthesis of carbon dots (CDs) from a natural resource such as mushrooms is a promising prospect due to their exceptional physicochemical properties and broad range of potential applications.