Carbon dots (CDots) are nanoparticles of diameter <10 nm. The core in a CDot is made of carbon, and the coating on the surface is composed of nontoxic organic or biological molecules. CDots have recently been demonstrated to have highly effective antibacterial function under visible/natural light, which is associated with their unique optical properties and photoinduced redox characteristics. Building upon the known antibacterial function of CDots, this project expands the research and development of CDots to target viruses. Viruses have different structures, and replicate in a different way from bacteria, so specifically designed and modified CDots and hybrid dots with the core composed of carbon and other materials are synthesized and tested to identify those that are most effective to target viruses. The successful execution of this project could lead to the development of effective antiviral agents with potential applications for preventing viral transmission and infection, addressing some of the critical issues in public health and safety. The project also provides excellent opportunities for the research development of faculty, the training of underrepresented minority students, and the recruitment of students into the pipeline to STEM programs at North Carolina Central University.
This project is to develop carbon dots (CDots) and novel carbon-based hybrid dots to target viruses. The hybrid dots, with TiO2 doping or dye photosensitizer encapsulation in core carbon nanoparticles, are designed to significantly improve the optical properties and enhance photodynamic effects, thus exploiting the synergistic effect of the two constituents within the hybrid dots for more effective antiviral activities. With the use of two structurally different model viruses, murine norovirus (MNV) and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), the project has three research aims: 1) Evaluation of the antiviral activities of selected CDots platforms against representative viruses, towards the understanding of property-function correlations by using various viral binding assays and infectivity assays. 2) Exploration of selected hybrid dots (C/TiO2 and C/dye photosensitizer hybrid dots) for more effective antiviral activities against MNV and VSV, including a systematic evaluation on the correlation between major CDots properties such as dot surface charge, dot size, and optical properties and their antiviral effectiveness. 3) Mechanistic exploration of CDots and hybrid dots' antiviral actions, focusing on the interactions between the dots and viruses, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, viral particle integrity, and damages in viral proteins and viral genomic integrity by using various chemical/biochemical analytic tools and high-resolution microscopy methods. The successful execution of this project leads to the development of effective antiviral agents with potential applications for preventing viral transmission and infection.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
