Tryptophan-sorbitol based carbon quantum dots for theranostics against hepatocellular carcinoma

Anticancer activity of quantum size carbon dots: opportunities and challenges

Research into the anticancer activity of quantum-sized carbon dots (CDs) has emerged as a promising avenue in cancer research. This CDs delves into the opportunities and challenges associated with harnessing the potential of these nanostructures for combating cancer. Quantum-sized carbon dots, owing to their unique physicochemical properties, exhibit distinct advantages as potential therapeutic agents. Opportunities lie in their tunable size, surface functionalization capabilities, and biocompatibility, enabling targeted drug delivery and imaging in cancer cells. However, we include challenges, a comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanisms, potential toxicity concerns, and the optimization of synthesis methods for enhanced therapeutic efficacy. A succinct summary of the state of the research in this area is given in this review, emphasizing the exciting possibilities and ongoing challenges in utilizing quantum-sized carbon dots as a novel strategy for cancer treatment.

Emerging Trends in Nanomedicine: Carbon-Based Nanomaterials for Healthcare

Carbon-based nanomaterials, such as carbon quantum dots (CQDs) and carbon 2D nanosheets (graphene, graphene oxide, and graphdiyne), have shown remarkable potential in various biological applications. CQDs offer tunable photoluminescence and excellent biocompatibility, making them suitable for bioimaging, drug delivery, biosensing, and photodynamic therapy. Additionally, CQDs' unique properties enable bioimaging-guided therapy and targeted imaging of biomolecules. On the other hand, carbon 2D nanosheets exhibit exceptional physicochemical attributes, with graphene excelling in biosensing and bioimaging, also in drug delivery and antimicrobial applications, and graphdiyne in tissue engineering. Their properties, such as tunable porosity and high surface area, contribute to controlled drug release and enhanced tissue regeneration. However, challenges, including long-term biocompatibility and large-scale synthesis, necessitate further research. Potential future directions encompass theranostics, immunomodulation, neural interfaces, bioelectronic medicine, and expanding bioimaging capabilities. In summary, both CQDs and carbon 2D nanosheets hold promise to revolutionize biomedical sciences, offering innovative solutions and improved therapies in diverse biological contexts. Addressing current challenges will unlock their full potential and can shape the future of medicine and biotechnology.

Nano-based drug delivery systems in hepatocellular carcinoma

The high recurrence rate of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and poor prognosis after medical treatment reflects the necessity to improve the current chemotherapy protocols, particularly drug delivery methods. Development of targeted and efficient drug delivery systems (DDSs), in all active, passive and stimuli-responsive forms for selective delivery of therapeutic drugs to the tumour site has been extended to improve efficacy and reduce the severe side effects. Recent advances in nanotechnology offer promising breakthroughs in the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of cancer cells. In this review, the specific design of DDSs based on the different nano-particles and their surface engineering is discussed. In addition, the innovative clinical studies in which nano-based DDS was used in the treatment of HCC were highlighted.

Advancements in the synthesis of carbon dots and their application in biomedicine

As a sort of fluorescent carbon nanomaterial with a particle size of less than 10 nm, carbon dots (CDs) have their own merits of good dispersibility in water, stable optical properties, strong chemical inertness, stable optical properties, and good biosecurity. These excellent peculiarities facilitated them like sensing, imaging, medicine, catalysis, and optoelectronics, making them a new star in the field of nanotechnology. In particular, the development of CDs in the fields of chemical probes, imaging, cancer therapy, antibacterial and drug delivery has become a hot topic in current research. Although the biomedical applications in CDs have been demonstrated in many research articles, a systematic summary of their role in biomedical applications is scarce. In this review, we introduced the basic information of CDs in detail, including synthesis approaches of CDs as well as their favorable properties including photoluminescence and low cytotoxicity. Subsequently, the application of CDs in the field of biomedicine was emphasized. Finally, the main challenges and research prospects of CDs in this field were proposed, which might provide some detailed information in designing new CDs in this promising biomedical field.

Targeted delivery strategies: The interactions and applications of nanoparticles in liver diseases

In recent years, nanoparticles have been broadly utilized in various drugs delivery formulations. Nanodelivery systems have shown promise in solving problems associated with the distribution of hydrophobic drugs and have promoted the accumulation of nanomedicines in the circulation or in organs. However, the injection dose of nanoparticles (NPs) is much greater than that needed by diseased tissues or organs. In other words, most of the NPs are localized off-target and do not reach the desired tissue or organs. With the rapid development of biodegradable and biosafety nanomaterials, the nanovectors represent assurance of safety. However, the off-target effects also induce concerns about the application of NPs, especially in the delivery of gene editing tools. Therefore, a complete understanding of the biological responses to NPs in the body will clearly guide the design of targeted delivery of NPs. The different properties of various nanodelivery systems may induce diverse interactions between carriers and organs. In this review, we describe the relationship between the liver, the most influenced organ of systemic administration of NPs, and targeted delivery nanoplatforms. Various transport vehicles have adopted multiple delivery strategies for the targeted delivery to the cells in the homeostasis liver and in diseased liver. Additionally, nanodelivery systems provide a novel strategy for treating incurable diseases. The appearance of a targeted delivery has profoundly improved the application of NPs to liver diseases.

Chiral carbon dots derived from tryptophan and threonine for enantioselective sensing of L/D-Lysine

Presently, most fluorescent probes for amino acid enantiomers detection require metal ions participation, which greatly increases the detection steps and costs, and affects the accuracy of detection results. To solve this problem, a dual pattern recognition sensor of chiral carbon dots (L-Try-Thr-CDs) with a quantum yield of 36.23 % was prepared by a one-step solvothermal method for the highly selective detection of lysine (Lys) enantiomers. Under optimal experimental conditions, the fluorescence and circular dichroism (CD) signals of the obtained L-Try-Thr-CDs could rapidly and effectively responded to L-Lys with limits of detection (LOD) of 16.51 nM and 24.38 nM, respectively, much lower than previously reported sensors. Importantly, the L-Try-Thr-CDs as a dual-mode sensor could not only detect amino acid enantiomers and simplify the steps, but also avoid inaccurate detection results due to unstable metal ions. Furthermore, the L-Try-Thr-CDs could detect L-Lys in living cells via a fluorescence microscope because of their excellent fluorescence characteristics and low toxicity. These results indicated that the dual-mode sensor not only provided a practical strategy for the design of new fluorescent probes, but also possessed outstanding application prospects in the accurate detection of lysine enantiomers.

Carbon dots@noble metal nanoparticle composites: research progress report

Carbon dots@noble metal nanoparticle composites are formed by combining carbon dots and metal nanoparticles using various strategies. Carbon dots exhibit a reducing ability and function as stabilisers; consequently, metal-ion solutions can be directly reduced by them to synthesise gold, silver, and gold-silver alloy particles. Carbon dots@gold/silver/gold-silver particle composites have demonstrated the potential for several practical applications owing to their superior properties and simple preparation process. Until now, several review articles have been published to summarise fluorescent carbon dots or noble metal nanomaterials. Compared with metal-free carbon dots, carbon dots@noble metal nanoparticles have a unique morphology and structure, resulting in new physicochemical properties, which allow for sensing, bioimaging, and bacteriostasis applications. Therefore, to promote the effective development of carbon dots@noble metal nanoparticle composites, this paper primarily reviews carbon dots@gold/silver/gold-silver alloy nanoparticle composites for the first time in terms of the following aspects. (1) The synthesis strategies of carbon dots@noble metal nanoparticle composites are outlined. The principle and function of carbon dots in the synthesis strategies are examined. The advantages and disadvantages of these methods and composites are analysed. (2) The characteristics and properties of such composites are described. (3) The applications of these composite materials are summarised. Finally, the potentials and limitations of carbon dots@noble metal nanoparticle composites are discussed, thus laying the foundation for their further development.

Potential Efficacy of Herbal Medicine-Derived Carbon Dots in the Treatment of Diseases: From Mechanism to Clinic

Carbon dots (CDs), a crucial component of nanomaterials, are zero-dimensional nanomaterials with carbon as the backbone structure and smaller than 10 nm. Due to their beneficial characteristics, they are widely used in biomedical fields such as biosensors, drug delivery, bio-imaging, and interactions with DNA. Interestingly, a novel type of carbon dot, generated by using herbal medicines as synthetic raw materials, has emerged as the most recent incomer in the family of CDs with the extensive growth in the number of materials selected for carbon dots synthesis. Herbal medicine-derived carbon dots (HM-CDs) have been employed in the biomedical industry, and are rapidly emerging as "modern nanomaterials" due to their unique structures and exceptional capabilities. Emerging trends suggest that their specific properties can be used in bleeding disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, inflammation-related diseases, and other common intractable diseases including cancer, menopausal syndrome, central nervous system disorders, and pain of various forms and causes. In addition, HM-CDs have been found to have organ-protective and antioxidant properties, as evidenced by extensive studies. This research provides a more comprehensive understanding of the biomedical applications of HM-CDs for the aforementioned disorders and investigates the intrinsic pharmacological activities and mechanisms of these HM-CDs to further advance their clinical applications.

Conjugated Nanoparticles for Solid Tumor Theranostics: Unraveling the Interplay of Known and Unknown Factors

Cancer diagnoses have been increasing worldwide, and solid tumors are among the leading contributors to patient mortality, creating an enormous burden on the global healthcare system. Cancer is responsible for around 10.3 million deaths worldwide. Solid tumors are one of the most prevalent cancers observed in recent times. On the other hand, early diagnosis is a significant challenge that could save a person's life. Treatment with existing methods has pitfalls that limit the successful elimination of the disorder. Though nanoparticle-based imaging and therapeutics have shown a significant impact in healthcare, current methodologies for solid tumor treatment are insufficient. There are multiple complications associated with the diagnosis and management of solid tumors as well. Recently, surface-conjugated nanoparticles such as lipid nanoparticles, metallic nanoparticles, and quantum dots have shown positive results in solid tumor diagnostics and therapeutics in preclinical models. Other nanotheranostic material platforms such as plasmonic theranostics, magnetotheranostics, hybrid nanotheranostics, and graphene theranostics have also been explored. These nanoparticle theranostics ensure the appropriate targeting of tumors along with selective delivery of cargos (both imaging and therapeutic probes) without affecting the surrounding healthy tissues. Though they have multiple applications, nanoparticles still possess numerous limitations that need to be addressed in order to be fully utilized in the clinic. In this review, we outline the importance of materials and design strategies used to engineer nanoparticles in the treatment and diagnosis of solid tumors and how effectively each method overcomes the drawbacks of the current techniques. We also highlight the gaps in each material platform and how design considerations can address their limitations in future research directions.

Zero-Dimensional Carbon Nanomaterials for Fluorescent Sensing and Imaging

Advances in nanotechnology and nanomaterials have attracted considerable interest and play key roles in scientific innovations in diverse fields. In particular, increased attention has been focused on carbon-based nanomaterials exhibiting diverse extended structures and unique properties. Among these materials, zero-dimensional structures, including fullerenes, carbon nano-onions, carbon nanodiamonds, and carbon dots, possess excellent bioaffinities and superior fluorescence properties that make these structures suitable for application to environmental and biological sensing, imaging, and therapeutics. This review provides a systematic overview of the classification and structural properties, design principles and preparation methods, and optical properties and sensing applications of zero-dimensional carbon nanomaterials. Recent interesting breakthroughs in the sensitive and selective sensing and imaging of heavy metal pollutants, hazardous substances, and bioactive molecules as well as applications in information encryption, super-resolution and photoacoustic imaging, and phototherapy and nanomedicine delivery are the main focus of this review. Finally, future challenges and prospects of these materials are highlighted and envisaged. This review presents a comprehensive basis and directions for designing, developing, and applying fascinating fluorescent sensors fabricated based on zero-dimensional carbon nanomaterials for specific requirements in numerous research fields.

Peptides Targeting HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Cells and Applications in Tumor Imaging and Delivery of Chemotherapeutics

Breast cancer represents the most common cancer type and one of the major leading causes of death in the female worldwide population. Overexpression of HER2, a transmembrane glycoprotein related to the epidermal growth factor receptor, results in a biologically and clinically aggressive breast cancer subtype. It is also the primary driver for tumor detection and progression and, in addition to being an important prognostic factor in women diagnosed with breast cancer, HER2 is a widely known therapeutic target for drug development. The aim of this review is to provide an updated overview of the main approaches for the diagnosis and treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer proposed in the literature over the past decade. We focused on the different targeting strategies involving antibodies and peptides that have been explored with their relative outcomes and current limitations that need to be improved. The review also encompasses a discussion on targeted peptides acting as probes for molecular imaging. By using different types of HER2-targeting strategies, nanotechnology promises to overcome some of the current clinical challenges by developing novel HER2-guided nanosystems suitable as powerful tools in breast cancer imaging, targeting, and therapy.

Synergistic and Long-Lasting Wound Dressings Promote Multidrug-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus-Infected Wound Healing

Background

Multidrug-resistant staphylococcus aureus infected wounds can lead to nonhealing, systemic infections, and even death. Although advanced dressings are effective in protecting, disinfecting, and maintaining moist microenvironments, they often have limitations such as single functionality, inadequate drug release, poor biosafety, or high rates of drug resistance.

Methods

Here, a novel wound dressing comprising glycyrrhizic acid (GA) and tryptophan-sorbitol carbon quantum dots (WS-CQDs) was developed, which exhibit synergistic and long-lasting antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. We investigated the characterization, mechanical properties, synergistic antibacterial effects, sustained-release properties, and cytotoxicity of GA/WS-CQDs hydrogels in vitro. Additionally, we performed transcriptome sequence analysis to elucidate the antibacterial mechanism. Furthermore, we evaluated the biosafety, anti-inflammatory effects, and wound healing ability of GA/WS-CQDs dressings using an in vivo mouse model of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)-infected wounds.

Results

The prepared GA/WS-CQDs hydrogels demonstrated superior anti-MRSA effects compared to common antibiotics in vitro. Furthermore, the sustained release of WS-CQDs from GA/WS-CQDs hydrogels lasted for up to 60 h, with a cumulative release of exceeding 90%. The sustained-released WS-CQDs exhibited excellent anti-MRSA effects, with low drug resistance attributed to DNA damage and inhibition of bacterial biofilm formation. Notably, in vivo experiments showed that GA/WS-CQDs dressings reduced the expression of inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) and significantly promoted the healing of MRSA-infected wounds with almost no systemic toxicity. Importantly, the dressings did not require replacement during the treatment process.

Conclusion

These findings emphasize the high suitability of GA/WS-CQDs dressings for MRSA-infected wound healing and their potential for clinical translation.

Recent trends in macromolecule-conjugated hybrid quantum dots for cancer theranostic applications

Quantum dots (QDs) are small nanoparticles with semiconductor properties ranging from 2 to 10 nanometers comprising 10-50 atoms. The single wavelength excitation character of QDs makes it more significant, as it can excite multiple particles in a confined surface simultaneously by narrow emission. QDs are more photostable than traditional organic dyes; however, when injected into tissues, whole animals, or ionic solutions, there is a significant loss of fluorescence. HQD-based probes conjugated with cancer-specific ligands, antibodies, or peptides are used in clinical diagnosis. It is more precise and reliable than standard immunohistochemistry (IHC) at minimal protein expression levels. Advanced clinical studies use photodynamic therapy (PDT) with fluorescence imaging to effectively identify and treat cancer. Recent studies revealed that a combination of unique characteristics of QDs, including their fluorescence capacity and abnormal expression of miRNA in cancer cells, were used for the detection and monitoring progression of cancer. In this review, we have highlighted the unique properties of QDs and the theranostic behavior of various macromolecule-conjugated HQDs leading to cancer treatment.

Targeting serine-glycine-one-carbon metabolism as a vulnerability in cancers

The serine-glycine-one-carbon (SGOC) metabolic pathway is critical for DNA methylation, histone methylation, and redox homeostasis, in addition to protein, lipid, and nucleotide biosynthesis. The SGOC pathway is a crucial metabolic network in tumorigenesis, wherein the outputs are required for cell survival and proliferation and are particularly likely to be co-opted by aggressive cancers. SGOC metabolism provides an integration point in cell metabolism and is of crucial clinical significance. The mechanism of how this network is regulated is the key to understanding tumor heterogeneity and overcoming the potential mechanism of tumor recurrence. Herein, we review the role of SGOC metabolism in cancer by focusing on key enzymes with tumor-promoting functions and important products with physiological significance in tumorigenesis. In addition, we introduce the ways in which cancer cells acquire and use one-carbon unit, and discuss the recently clarified role of SGOC metabolic enzymes in tumorigenesis and development, as well as their relationship with cancer immunotherapy and ferroptosis. The targeting of SGOC metabolism may be a potential therapeutic strategy to improve clinical outcomes in cancers.

Carbon Dots: Opportunities and Challenges in Cancer Therapy

Recently, carbon dots (CDs) have been actively studied and reported for their various properties. In particular, the specific characteristics of carbon dots have been considered as a possible technique for cancer diagnosis and therapy. This is also a cutting-edge technology that offers fresh ideas for treating various disorders. Though carbon dots are still in their infancy and have not yet shown their value to society, their discovery has already resulted in some noteworthy advancements. The application of CDs indicates conversion in natural imaging. Photography using CDs has demonstrated extraordinary appropriateness in bio-imaging, the discovery of novel drugs, the delivery of targeted genes, bio-sensing, photodynamic therapy, and diagnosis. This review seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of CDs, including their benefits, characteristics, applications, and mode of action. In this overview, many CD design strategies will be highlighted. In addition, we will discuss numerous studies on cytotoxic testing to demonstrate the safety of CDs. The current study will address the production method, mechanism, ongoing research, and application of CDs in cancer diagnosis and therapy.

Facile and Green Synthesis of Highly Fluorescent Carbon Quantum Dots from Water Hyacinth for the Detection of Ferric Iron and Cellular Imaging

Natural biomass is used for facile synthesis of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) with high fluorescence, owing to its abundance, low cost, and eco-friendliness. In this study, a bottom-up hydrothermal method was used to prepare CQDs from water hyacinth (wh) at a constant temperature of 180 °C for 12 h. The synthesized wh-CQDs had uniform size, amorphous graphite structure, high water solubility (containing multiple hydroxyl and carboxyl groups on the surface), excitation light-dependent characteristics, and high photostability. The results showed that the aqueous solution of CQDs could detect Fe³⁺ rapidly, sensitively, and highly selectively with a detection limit of 0.084 μM in the linear range of 0–330 μM, which is much lower than the detection limit of 0.77 μM specified by the World Health Organization. More importantly, because the wh-CQDs were synthesized without any additives, they exhibited low toxicity to Klebsiella sp. cells even at high concentrations. Moreover, wh-CQDs emitted bright blue fluorescence in Klebsiella sp. cells, indicating its strong penetrating ability. Correspondingly, the fluorescent cell sorting results also revealed that the proportion of cell internalization reached 41.78%. In this study, wh-CQDs derived from natural biomass were used as high-performance fluorescent probes for Fe³⁺ detection and Klebsiella sp. imaging. This study is expected to have great significance for the application of biomass carbon spots in the field of cellular imaging and biology.

Research progress in synthesis and biological application of quantum dots

Quantum dots are an excellent choice for biomedical applications due to their special optical properties and quantum confinement effects. This paper reviews the research and application progress of several quantum...

One-step facile preparation of carbon dots with high fluorescence quantum yield and application in rapid latent fingerprint detection

The development of luminescent materials greatly affects the development of fluorescence imaging technology. The preparation of carbon dots (CDs) with high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) in the solid-state is challenging due to excessive resonance energy transfer (RET) and direct π–π interactions. In this study, we synthesized carbon dots that exhibit green fluorescence (GCDs) with absolute PLQYs up to 35.65% in one step by a microwave-assisted method. In the solid-state, the absolute PLQY reached 19.25%. Then, the GCDs were mixed with soluble starch in appropriate proportions, which improved the adsorption and dispersion of the GCDs and greatly reduced the cost of the fingerprint powder, and increased the absolute PLQY of the fingerprint powder to 41.75%. Finally, we prepared GCDs for preliminary fabrication of luminescent films, and the GCD-starch powder was successfully applied to high-quality latent fingerprint (LFP) imaging. The related properties of GCDs and the LFP detection performance of fingerprint detection powders prepared by GCDs were studied in detail. The results showed that the LFP system developed with GCDs-starch powder visualized LFPs with high definition and contrast under different conditions, and GCDs had potential for application in light-emitting devices. This study developed a new type of solid-state luminescent CDs and demonstrated that these GCDs have great application potential for LFP detection. This study may also provide inspiration for other applications based on efficient solid-state fluorescence.

The development of luminescent materials greatly affects the development of fluorescence imaging technology.