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As a new zero-dimensional carbon-based material, carbon dots (CDs) have attracted extensive attention owing to their advantages such as easy preparation and surface modification, good biocompatibility and water solubility, and tunable photochemical properties. CDs have become one of the most promising nanomaterials in the field of fluorescent sensing, bioimaging, and cancer therapy. How to precisely regulate the photochemical properties, especially the absorption, fluorescence, phosphorescence, reactive oxygen species generation, and photothermal conversion of the CDs, is the key to developing highly efficient phototheranostics for cancer treatment. Although many studies on cancer therapy using CDs have been published, no review has focused on the regulation of photochemical properties of CDs for phototheranostic applications. In this review, we summarized the strategies such as the selection of suitable carbon source, heteroatomic doping, optimum reaction conditions, surface modification, and assembly strategy to efficiently regulate the photochemical properties of the CDs to meet the requirements of different practical applications. This review might provide some valuable insight and new ideas for the development of CDs with excellent phototheranostic performance. This article is categorized under: Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging Technologies Nanotechnology Approaches to Biology > Nanoscale Systems in Biology Diagnostic Tools > In Vivo Nanodiagnostics and Imaging., (© 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Photothermal therapy (PTT) has inherent advantages in the treatment of hypoxic tumors due to its optically controlled selectivity on tumor ablation and oxygen-independent nature. The subcellular organelle-targeting capability and photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE) at near-infrared (NIR) wavelength are the key parameters in the assessment of the photothermal agent (PTA). Here, we report that carbon dots (CDs) prepared by the hydrothermal treatment of coronene derivatives show a high PCE of 54.7% at 808 nm, which can be attributed to the narrow band gap and the presence of amounts of continuous energy bands on CDs. Moreover, the vibrations in the layered graphite structures of the CDs also increase the rate of nonradiative transition and thus enhance the PCE. Furthermore, the CDs also possess excellent photostability, biocompatibility, and cell penetration capability and could mainly accumulate in the lysosomes. These experiment results have proved that the CDs are suitable as an efficient NIR light-triggered PTA for efficient PTT against cancer.

A carbon dot (CD)-based fluorometric probe for oxytetracycline (OTC) detection utilizing a Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) mechanism was firstly developed. Upon addition of OTC, the blue fluorescence of the CDs peaked at 405 nm was quickly quenched, with a new fluorescence peaked at 505 nm attributed to OTC was observed within 30 s. A visual fluorescent color change of the CDs solution from blue to green was discerned under a 365 nm UV light irradiation. The CDs displayed a high sensitivity and selectivity toward OTC with a low detection limit of 0.41 μM. Furthermore, the probe was applied to detect OTC in water, milk, and pork samples with a satisfied recovery., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing financial interest., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Nitrogen and sulfur codoped carbon dots (CDs) were prepared from garlic by a hydrothermal method. The as-prepared CDs possess good water dispersibility, strong blue fluorescence emission with a fluorescent quantum yield of 17.5%, and excellent photo and pH stabilities. It is also demonstrated that the fluorescence of CDs are resistant to the interference of metal ions, biomolecules, and high ionic strength environments. Combining with low cytotoxicity properties, CDs could be used as an excellent fluorescent probe for cellular multicolor imaging. Moreover, the CDs were also demonstrated to exhibit favorable radical scavenging activity.

Oxytetracycline (OTC) is an environmental pollutant caused by the abuse of antibiotics, and its content in water is closely related to human health. Therefore, the development of a simple, rapid, and accurate method to detect OTC has become desirable. In this work, a ratiometric fluorescence probe based on deep red emissive CdTe quantum dots (QDs) modified by mercaptopropionic acid and Eu3+ is developed to accurately and rapidly detect OTC in water. After the addition of OTC, the photoluminescence intensity of CdTe QDs at 698 nm remains almost unchanged, while the peak at 617 nm intensifies within 40 s due to the coordination of Eu3+ with OTC. An excellent linear relationship is present between the photoluminescence intensity ratio of I617/I698 and the concentration of OTC. The limit of detection of the probe towards OCT is 5.4 nM. In addition, the probe shows good selectivity and anti-interference ability for OTC in the presence of other antibiotics, including other antibiotics, ions, and amino acids. The probe has been successfully applied to detect OTC in actual samples, demonstrating its potential for environmental application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The use of recently emerged inorganic NDDS to cross the BBB are emphasized. • The effect of intrinsic and extrinsic factors to BBB-crossing are discussed. • The merits and perspectives in using inorganic NDDS to cross BBB are summarized. • The physicochemical, therapeutic, diagnostic properties of the NDDS are discussed. The blood–brain barrier (BBB) exists between plasma and brain tissue. It comprises a capillary wall and glial cells and prevents external substances, including therapeutic agents, from entering the brain. The prevention has caused difficulty in treating central nervous system (CNS)-associated diseases. With the development of nanotechnology and a more in-depth understanding of the BBB, various nano-drug delivery systems (NDDS) have been developed and used as promising BBB-crossing agents to achieve efficient delivery and release of drugs to the CNS. Herein, we summarize the recent progress in developing inorganic NDDS for crossing the BBB, including metal-based nanoparticles (NPs), Si NPs, Se NPs, semiconductor quantum dots, and carbon nanostructures. The mechanisms of these inorganic NDDS on crossing BBB have been reviewed. Moreover, the influence factors, including the morphology, size, surface charge, and chemical groups that affect the BBB crossing efficacy of these inorganic NDDS, are discussed. The advantages and challenges of these NDDS may face in future clinical use are presented. This review provides the overall understanding of inorganic NDDS for crossing the BBB, offering new paths that may be used for treating CNS diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A CDs@LP with fluorescence and ultra-long (lifetime of 1.33 s) RTP were prepared. • The dual-responsive probe provide a novel strategy for accurate OTC detection. • Fluorescence and RTP test strip was successfully used to analyze OTC. • The dual-signal probe exhibit low LOD and good recovery rate in actual water samples. Dual-responsive probes emitting both fluorescence and phosphorescence signals are greatly advantageous to sensing. Here, we present a carbon dots-based luminophore (CDs@LP) with blue fluorescence and ultra-long yellow room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) with lifetime of 1.33 s (that was visible to the naked eye for ∼ 13 s) for ratiometric detection of oxytetracycline (OTC). The CDs@LP was prepared by molten salt method through one-step treatment of 2, 6-diaminopyridine, KNO 3 , MgCl 2 , and KH 2 PO 4. Upon the addition of OTC into CDs@LP aqueous solution, the fluorescence at 386 nm and RTP at 538 nm of CDs@LP were quenched as a result of the inner filter effect (IEF), while the fluorescence at 522 nm of OTC steadily enhanced due to the molecular restriction through the formation of OTC-Mg2+ complexes. Both fluorescence and RTP signals have excellent linear relationships with OTC concentration. The CDs@LP had a low detection limit of 3.2 nM (fluorescence) and 0.27 μM (phosphorescence), which also exhibited satisfactory selectivity and anti-interference performance towards other antibiotics. Moreover, the CDs@LP was successfully loaded on a filter paper and used for OTC sensing. Thus, it is a promising tool for OTC detection and can act as a foundation for producing dual-signal sensing tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]