The effect and mechanism of enhanced photocatalytic fungicidal activity on nitrogen doped carbon dots-modified titanium dioxide

The photocatalytic antifungal strategy has attracted much attention in the field of fungicidal therapy due to its efficient therapeutic efficacy and avoidance of drug resistance. However, exploring safe and efficient photocatalysts remains an urgent challenge. In this work, nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N-CDs) combined with titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanomaterials were synthesized by a hydrothermal method to exert a photocatalytic antifungal effect under sunlight irradiation. Compared with carbon dots/TiO 2 without N-doped modification, employing N doping to fabricate N-CDs/TiO 2 photocatalyst could further markedly optimize the bandgap structure of TiO 2 , improve the absorption of the solar spectrum and accelerate the electron-hole pairs separation, thereby greatly enhancing the photocatalytic reaction and antifungal effect. Remarkably, in the photocatalytic antifungal reaction, N-CDs/TiO 2 produces more oxygen radicals such as •OH and •O 2 − to rapidly hinder the germination of Aspergillus fumigatus hyphae and the formation of fungal biofilm. Additionally, the incorporation of N-CDs and TiO 2 possesses the great biocompatibility. Overall, this study proves that employing N-CDs/TiO 2 nanomaterials can be a promising and efficient therapeutic method against fungal infections.