The Cost-Effective Preparation of Green Fluorescent Carbon Dots for Bioimaging and Enhanced Intracellular Drug Delivery

Abstract

Doxorubicin entrapped carbon dots (DOX-CDs) were prepared for bioimaging and enhanced intracellular drug delivery. The CDs were synthesized via the hydrothermal method using citrate and urea under 200°C for 1 h. Then, DOX was successfully conjugated on the CDs via physicochemical interactions. The DOX-CDs exhibited good crystal structure, remarkable aqueous stability, excellent photoluminescence property, and a high quantum yield of 93%. The fluorescent images revealed that the DOX-CDs could be readily taken up by the cancer cells for cell labeling. Furthermore, endo-lysosomal pH-assisted DOX release behavior was observed from DOX-CDs, and the cytotoxicity of DOX-CDs was confirmed by the MTS assay against H0-8910 ovarian cancer cells. In addition, the CDs indicated bright fluorescent signal in the animal imaging test and demonstrated low toxicity after administration for 7 and 21 days. Therefore, the prepared CDs could be a promising imaging probe for biomedical imaging and intracellular drug delivery.

Carbon Dots: Classification, Properties, Synthesis, Characterization, and Applications in Health Care—An Updated Review (2018–2021)

“…To serve these benefits, CDs play a substantial role as a nanocarrier in the development of novel drug delivery systems. When a target-sensitive biomolecule is modified at the surface of CDs, CDs-loaded drug delivery systems can specifically target the cancerous or unhealthy cells, by restricting their penetration into normal cells [297][298][299].…”

You Don’t Learn That in School: An Updated Practical Guide to Carbon Quantum Dots

“…Table 2 contains summarized a compilation of some works in which CQDsS were used and drug delivery vehicles. Sun et al [ 122 ] obtained CQDs using sodium citrate dehydrate and urea by a one-step controlled thermal pyrolysis. Afterward, doxorubicin was non-noncovalently conjugated with CQDs by continuous stirring for 48 h in the dark.…”

Synthesis and characterization of novel protein nanodots as drug delivery carriers with an enhanced biological efficacy of melatonin in breast cancer cells

“…The Mel interaction with the PNDs provides new states and defects for the charge transfer, and enhance the photoluminescence intensity. 64,65 The UV and PL analysis of the complex shows that PNDs can be a very good carrier for the bioimaging and drug delivery of Mel for further in vitro studies.…”