Surface engineering of carbon dots synthesized from green sources with antiviral properties

Our work describes the surface modification of carbon dots (CDs) synthesized by hydrothermal method from natural sources and their potential viricidal activity. A mix of Aloe/green tea/lemon juice extract was compared with strawberry/ginger, obtaining semispherical CDs of ca. 6 nm, with a high excitation-emission peak associated with the characteristic blue fluorescent CDs solution. The chemical composition of the metabolites present in the extracts generates the formation of O and N species, suggesting the formation of C -OH, C = O, O -C = O, CN, and N -H bonds. As a result, the viricidal activity of CDs was demonstrated against Herpes simplex and SARSCoV-2 viruses, obtaining eco-friendly and low-cost antimicrobial CDs with potential biomedical applications.