Chemodynamic therapy (CDT), a novel cancer therapeutic strategy defined as the treatment using Fenton or Fenton‐like reaction to produce •OH in the tumor region, was first proposed by Bu, Shi, and co‐workers in 2016. Recently, with the rapid development of Fenton and Fenton‐like nanomaterials, CDT has attracted tremendous attention because of its unique advantages: 1) It is tumor‐selective with low side effects; 2) the CDT process does not depend on external field stimulation; 3) it can modulate the hypoxic and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment; 4) the treatment cost of CDT is low. In addition to the Fe‐involved CDT strategies, the Fenton‐like reaction‐mediated CDT strategies have also been proposed, which are based on many other metal elements including copper, manganese, cobalt, titanium, vanadium, palladium, silver, molybdenum, ruthenium, tungsten, cerium, and zinc. Moreover, CDT has been combined with other therapies like chemotherapy, radiotherapy, phototherapy, sonodynamic therapy, and immunotherapy for achieving enhanced anticancer effects. Besides, there have also been studies that extend the application of CDT to the antibacterial field. This review introduces the latest advancements in the nanomaterials‐involved CDT from 2018 to the present and proposes the current limitations as well as future research directions in the related field.

Carbon dots (CDs), a type of small, carbon element‐based nanomaterials, have found numerous applications in many fields due to their outstanding properties like fascinating photoluminescence characteristic, great biocompatibility, easy and economical synthesis, and facile functionalization. Over the last decade, huge progress and achievements have been made in terms of the applications of CDs in cellular detection. However, a comprehensive review focusing on this topic is still lacking. Herein, the recent progress in CDs‐mediated intracellular detection, including the fluorescence imaging of cellular structures (e.g., nucleus/nucleolus, mitochondrion, lysosome, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, and lipid droplet), the fluorescence detection of a large variety of cellular substances (including endogenous biomacromolecules and their monomers, vitamins, important metabolites, adenosine triphosphate, reactive oxygen species, biothiols, ions, and exogenous compounds), and the monitoring of cellular parameters (pH, temperature, and mitochondrial membrane potential), is thoroughly reviewed. The synthesis, functionalization, and performance of the CDs that serve as fluorescent nanoprobes in living cells are presented. Their underlying working mechanisms are also discussed if available. Finally, the challenges and future research directions of the related research field are listed. This review may foster the future development of more CDs with better cellular sensing performance.

No abstract

No abstract