Colloidal Chiral Carbon Dots: An Emerging System for Chiroptical Applications

Abstract

Chiral CDots (c‐CDots) not only inherit those merits from CDots but also exhibit chiral effects in optical, electric, and bio‐properties. Therefore, c‐CDots have received significant interest from a wide range of research communities including chemistry, physics, biology, and device engineers. They have already made decent progress in terms of synthesis, together with the exploration of their optical properties and applications. In this review, the chiroptical properties and chirality origin in extinction circular dichroism (ECD) and circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) of c‐CDots is briefly discussed. Then, the synthetic strategies of c‐CDots is summarized, including one‐pot synthesis, post‐functionalization of CDots with chiral ligands, and assembly of CDots into chiral architectures with soft chiral templates. Afterward, the chiral effects on the applications of c‐CDots are elaborated. Research domains such as drug delivery, bio‐ or chemical sensing, regulation of enzyme‐like catalysis, and others are covered. Finally, the perspective on the challenges associated with the synthetic strategies, understanding the origin of chirality, and potential applications is provided. This review not only discusses the latest developments of c‐CDots but also helps toward a better understanding of the structure‐property relationship along with their respective applications.

Carbon Dots in Enantioselective Sensing

“…Enantiorecognition needs, of course, a chiral structure in the sensing device. The object of this review is the use, to this purpose, of chiral carbon dots or chiral composites containing CDs [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ].…”

Direct Readout of Homo- vs Heterochiral Ligand Shell of Quantum Dots

“…Indeed, QDs are an important research area in nanoscience and nanotechnology and while the research in the field is constantly moving forward, there are a number of challenges . For example, detailed characterization of the ligand shell composition is required to optimize NC properties and surface interactions for a vast array of applications. − Transferring chirality from enantiomeric molecules to colloidal QDs represents another level of tailorability and has attracted immense attention across chemistry, materials, and biomedical science. , Chiroptical properties of NCs arouse interest at the level of basic research, , as well as in the context of various applications, including photonics, catalysis, sensing, and biomedicine. − For instance, nanomaterials fabricated using chiral ligands have aroused substantial interest due to the special chirality-dependent biological effects, and a recent seminal study demonstrated that nanoscale chirality can be exploited to modulate immunological responses and various types of chiral nanoparticles have been explored in cancer therapy . Hence, the development of chiroptically active colloidal QDs and understanding of their optical activity have been a vital issue of nanoresearch over the past decade , following the first observation of chiroptical activity in CdS QDs prepared by microwave-assisted synthesis in the presence of l - or d -penicillamine by Moloney et al in 2007 .…”

“… 5 − 9 Transferring chirality from enantiomeric molecules to colloidal QDs represents another level of tailorability and has attracted immense attention across chemistry, materials, and biomedical science. 10 , 11 Chiroptical properties of NCs arouse interest at the level of basic research, 12 , 13 as well as in the context of various applications, including photonics, catalysis, sensing, and biomedicine. 14 − 18 For instance, nanomaterials fabricated using chiral ligands have aroused substantial interest due to the special chirality-dependent biological effects, and a recent seminal study demonstrated that nanoscale chirality can be exploited to modulate immunological responses 19 and various types of chiral nanoparticles have been explored in cancer therapy.…”

Disentangling the “tip-effects” enhanced antibacterial mechanism of Ag nanoparticles

“…The development of nanotechnology has given rise to new achievements in the field of antibacterial agents. 8–11 Nanomaterials, with their high surface area to volume ratio as well as their unique physical and chemical properties, have shown great potential for antibacterial applications. 12–14 Importantly, the key factor of drug resistance for nanomaterials against bacteria has decreased significantly.…”