Carbon Dots As Promising Tools for Cancer Diagnosis and Therapy

Overview

Journal Cancers (Basel)

Publisher MDPI

Specialty Oncology

Date 2021 Apr 30

PMID 33919096

Citations 33

Authors

Giuseppe Nocito

Giovanna Calabrese

Stefano Forte

Salvatore Petralia

Caterina Puglisi

Michela Campolo

Emanuela Esposito

Sabrina Conoci

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Carbon Dots (CDs) are the latest members of carbon-based nanomaterials, which since their discovery have attracted notable attention due to their chemical and mechanical properties, brilliant fluorescence, high photostability, and good biocompatibility. Together with the ease and affordable preparation costs, these intrinsic features make CDs the most promising nanomaterials for multiple applications in the biological field, such as bioimaging, biotherapy, and gene/drug delivery. This review will illustrate the most recent applications of CDs in the biomedical field, focusing on their biocompatibility, fluorescence, low cytotoxicity, cellular uptake, and theranostic properties to highlight above all their usefulness as a promising tool for cancer diagnosis and therapy.

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