Concentration-dependent effect of photoluminescent carbon dots on the microbial activity of the soil studied by combination methods

Carbon dots (Cdots) have a great potential for their widespread biological applications. However, there are a few studies on the biosafety of Cdots. In this work, the biological effect of Cdots on soil microorganism was analyzed by microcalorimetry, soil enzymatic activities, and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The addition of Cdots causes a gradual increase of the maximum heat power (P_peak) and the growth rate (k) at low concentration of Cdots (0.0-50.00μg/g). But there is no significant effect of Cdots on the total heat output (Q_total). The urease and fluorescein diacetate esterase activities demonstrate that introduction of Cdots to soil has almost no impact on the structure and function of the soil microbial community and microbial processes. The DGGE results exhibit that the control and the Cdots-treated soils display similar patterns, indicating that Cdots have little effect on the microbial community structure.