Metal sensing-carbon dots loaded TiO2-nanocomposite for photocatalytic bacterial deactivation and application in aquaculture

Nowadays, bioactive nanomaterials have been attracted the researcher’s enthusiasm in various fields. Herein, Diplocyclos palmatus leaf extract-derived green-fluorescence carbon dots (DP-CDs) were prepared using the hydrothermal method. Due to the strong fluorescence stability, the prepared DP-CDs were coated on filter-paper to make a fluorometric sensor-strip for Fe3+ detection. After, a bandgap-narrowed DP-CDs/TiO2 nanocomposite (DCTN) was prepared using the methanolic extract of D. palmatus. The prepared DCTN exhibited improved photocatalytic bacterial deactivation under sunlight irradiation. The DCTN-photocatalysis slaughtered V. harveyi cells by the production of reactive oxygen species, which prompting oxidative stress, damaging the cell membrane and cellular constituents. These results suggest the plausible mode of bactericidal action of DCTN-photocatalysis under sunlight. Further, the DCTN has shown potent anti-biofilm activity against V. harveyi, and thereby, DCTN extended the survival of V. harveyi-infected shrimps during the in vivo trial with Litopenaeus vannamei. Notably, this is the first report for the disinfection of V. harveyi-mediated acute-hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND) using nanocomposite. The reduced internal-colonization of V. harveyi on the hepatopancreas as well as the rescue action of the pathognomonic effect in the experimental animals demonstrated the anti-infection potential of DCTN against V. harveyi-mediated AHPND in aquaculture.