Herein, we present a sustainable solvent-free synthetic procedure to produce carbon nanodots from common edible mushrooms (Pleurotus spp.). The resulting mushroom carbon nanodots (MCDs) exhibit stable blue fluorescence with high quantum yield (25%). The MCDs are highly dispersible in water because of the enormous number of oxygen- and nitrogen-containing functional groups on the surface. The MCDs can be used as an effective fluorescent probe for label-free detection of Hg²⁺ ions (detection limit: 4.13 nM). To improve the sensitivity, dihydrolipoic acid was attached to the surface of MCDs, resulting in ultra-sensitivity in Hg²⁺ ion sensing, with a detection limit as low as 17.4 pM. In addition, the MCDs can be used for the labeling of bacteria and as a photoinduced bactericidal agent. Light irradiation of E. coli treated with MCDs showed excellent bactericidal activity relative to the control. These sustainable and affordable carbon materials are potentially compatible for monitoring toxic metals and as a potent visible-light-responsive bactericidal probe.

在这里，我们提出了一种可持续的，无溶剂的合成方法，可以从普通食用菌（Pleurotus spp。）生产碳纳米点。所得的蘑菇碳纳米点（MCD）表现出稳定的蓝色荧光，且量子产率高（25％）。由于表面上存在大量的含氧和氮的官能团，因此MCD在水中高度分散。MCD可用作有效的荧光探针，用于无标记的Hg ²⁺离子检测（检测极限：4.13 nM）。为了提高敏感性，将二氢硫辛酸附着在MCD的表面，从而导致Hg ²⁺中的超敏感性离子检测，检测限低至17.4 pM。此外，MCD可用于细菌标记和光诱导杀菌剂。相对于对照，用MCD处理的大肠杆菌的光照射显示出优异的杀菌活性。这些可持续且负担得起的碳材料可能与监测有毒金属兼容，并可用作有效的可见光响应型杀菌探针。