Carbon Dot Therapeutic Platforms: Administration, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, Toxicity, and Therapeutic Potential

Abstract

Carbon Dots Classifications and their PropertiesAccording to the nature of carbon core materials, there are four broad categories of CDs which all aforementioned subsets may fall under. These include GQDs, CQDs, carbon nanodots (CNDs),

Surface charge influences protein corona, cell uptake and biological effects of carbon dots

“…As DLS method might overestimate the size of NPs due to the solvation molecules, our CDs were likely to be close to or slightly smaller than 10 nm in diameter, which is in line with the size range generally described for CDs in the literature. 4 The NPs showed the classical UV-vis absorption pattern of CDs, i.e., a monotonous and decreasing absorption between 250 and 800 nm with a peak at 350 nm. Noteworthy, CD1 and CD4 only displayed the monotonous and decreasing absorption between 250 and 800 nm, with no other detectable peak.…”

“…1,2 In the last decade, carbon-based NPs called carbon dots (CDs) have emerged as especially attractive nanomaterials for biomedical applications. [3][4][5] CDs are spherical NPs of very small size (less than 10 nm) that exhibit high water solubility, chemical stability, intrinsic fluorescence and resistance to photobleaching. They can be easily synthesized by top-down or bottom-up approaches.…”

Carbon Dots from Natural Sources for Biomedical Applications

“…[ 348 ] Ultrasmall in nano implies the encapsulation of ultrasmall nanoparticles like CDs within larger particles like lipid microspheres, liposomes, polymeric micelle nanoparticles, iron nanoparticles, and silica nanoparticles. The FDA approved nanoparticles listed above have the potential to house ultrasmall CDs, [ 349 ] for which strict consistency (batch‐to‐batch/lab‐to‐lab) of CDs derived from natural sources would be essential.…”

“…In a nutshell, CDs are of low toxicity in vivo and in vitro and are useful in biomedical applications. [ 340 ] The CDs are desirable for biomedical applications if [ 349 ] i) they are hydrophilic, ii) emit in the NIR region, iii) drug transport is facilitated across biological barriers, iv) the hydrodynamic diameter is below 6 nm, v) more than 50% efficacy for photothermal conversion, vi) functional properties are triggered by external radiation, vii) minimal off‐site interactions and high specificity to target site of interest, viii) high cellular uptake rates, ix) non‐toxic and either biodegradable or readily excreted ( Figure ).…”

Aminoglycoside-mimicking carbonized polymer dots for bacteremia treatment

“…[25][26][27] CNDs synthesized from various precursors have been employed in cellular labeling, antitumor, antibacterial, and antiviral applications, and to reduce inflammatory responses. [28][29][30][31][32][33][34] In particular, carbon dots carrying a positive charge due to quaternary ammonium or amine functional groups are of great interest due to their enhanced biofilm penetration and bactericidal effect. 35,36 Although several studies have shown that CNDs can successfully eradicate bacteria in vitro, [37][38][39][40][41] the inhibition of clinical isolates of pathogenic bacteria in vivo has never been studied.…”