Carbon Quantum Dots in Healthcare: A Promising Solution for Sustainable Healthcare and Biomedical Practices

The pursuit of sustainable development refers to meet the present needs while safeguarding the resources for future generations ensuring the well-being of human societies. Nanoscience is contributing significantly to the field of public healthcare by delivering a number of cutting-edge technological applications and products related to healthcare. Carbon quantum dots (CQDs), carbon-based nanomaterials, are gaining recognition for their potential health benefits worldwide. The current study aims to review the applications of CQDs in the biomedical field based on existing literature. The methodology used is the collection of the literature studies from authoritative sources such as Google Scholar, PubMed, and ResearchGate, with keywords ‘Carbon quantum dots in healthcare, biosensing, bioimaging, gene therapy, treatment, and theranostics’. The retrieved literature was comprehensively analyzed to construct the detailed review which suggests that CQDs have demonstrated remarkable potential across various domains, from disease treatment to biosensing, gene delivery, drug delivery, and bioimaging thus helping to achieve the 3rd goal of sustainable development. In addition to CQDs synthesized by chemical processes, natural CQDs developed by green chemistry from natural sources are gaining accreditation due to their evidenced potential health benefits. This article has reviewed the versatile applications of Carbon Quantum Dots (CQDs) in the biomedical field and discussed the possible contributions to achieve sustainable healthcare for the first time, suggesting CQDs as a potential target for future research and development. However, there are some limitations of CQDs including complex surface modification, toxicity, limited clinical translation which requires more attention in order to improve their healthcare applicability.