<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Carbon dots (CDs) are emerging as versatile fluorescent nanoprobes for bioimaging applications due to advantages like tunable emissions, excellent biocompatibility, facile surface functionalization, and ease of synthesis. This review summarizes recent advances in applying biosynthesized CDs for sensitive bioimaging. CDs derived from sustainable biomass sources through green techniques like hydrothermal and microwave synthesis demonstrate bright, excitation-tunable photoluminescence spanning visible to near-infrared spectra. Careful control of synthesis parameters and surface passivation strategies enhance quantum yields above 50% comparable to toxic semiconductor dots. Conjugation with polymers, peptides, and recognition elements like antibodies impart solubility and selectivity towards cancer cells and biomarkers. <italic>In vitro</italic> validation in standard lines shows targeted organelle imaging abilities. <italic>In vivo</italic> administration reveals renal clearance pharmacokinetics with preferential tumor accumulation via enhanced permeability effects. Average tumor growth inhibition around 50-80% was achieved in mouse xenografts using CDs-drug formulations through combined therapeutic effects of chemotherapy and photothermal ablation under imaging guidance. However, concerns regarding toxicity from chronic exposures, large-scale reproducible manufacturing, and multimodal imaging capabilities need redressal prior to further clinical translation.</p>
</abstract>

Carbon dots (CDs) are emerging as versatile fluorescent nanoprobes for bioimaging applications due to advantages like tunable emissions, excellent biocompatibility, facile surface functionalization, and ease of synthesis. This review summarizes recent advances in applying biosynthesized CDs for sensitive bioimaging. CDs derived from sustainable biomass sources through green techniques like hydrothermal and microwave synthesis demonstrate bright, excitation-tunable photoluminescence spanning visible to near-infrared spectra. Careful control of synthesis parameters and surface passivation strategies enhance quantum yields above 50% comparable to toxic semiconductor dots. Conjugation with polymers, peptides, and recognition elements like antibodies impart solubility and selectivity towards cancer cells and biomarkers. In vitro validation in standard lines shows targeted organelle imaging abilities. In vivo administration reveals renal clearance pharmacokinetics with preferential tumor accumulation via enhanced permeability effects. Average tumor growth inhibition around 50-80% was achieved in mouse xenografts using CDs-drug formulations through combined therapeutic effects of chemotherapy and photothermal ablation under imaging guidance. However, concerns regarding toxicity from chronic exposures, large-scale reproducible manufacturing, and multimodal imaging capabilities need redressal prior to further clinical translation.

Advances in the application of biosynthesized carbon dots as fluorescent probes for bioimaging

Materials Science-Poland

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Carbon dots (CDs) are emerging as versatile fluorescent nanoprobes for bioimaging applications due to advantages like tunable emissions, excellent...

Advances in the application of biosynthesized carbon dots as fluorescent probes for bioimaging

Published Online: May 22, 2024

Page range: 62 - 91

Received: Mar 03, 2024

Accepted: Apr 14, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/msp-2024-0009

Keywords
carbon nanodots, hydrothermal synthesis, surface bioconjugation, fluorescence imaging, cancer phototherapy, nanomedicine

© 2024 Xuechan Li et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Advances in the application of biosynthesized carbon dots as fluorescent probes for bioimaging

Published Online: May 22, 2024

Page range: 62 - 91

Received: Mar 03, 2024

Accepted: Apr 14, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/msp-2024-0009

Keywordscarbon nanodots, hydrothermal synthesis, surface bioconjugation, fluorescence imaging, cancer phototherapy, nanomedicine

© 2024 Xuechan Li et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
carbon nanodots, hydrothermal synthesis, surface bioconjugation, fluorescence imaging, cancer phototherapy, nanomedicine