A comprehensive review on carbon quantum dots as an effective photosensitizer and drug delivery system for cancer treatment

Abstract

Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) are an emerging class of carbon-based nanomaterials. CQDs are receiving considerable interest in biomedical applications due to their low toxicity, stability profile, efficient surface tailorability, aqueous solubility, diverse functionality, biocompatibility, and size-tunable emission when compared to other conventional carbon quantum dots (CDs) of group II, III, IV & V. Improved photodynamic treatment, photosensitization, bioimaging, targeted drug delivery, fluorescent marker for disease-detection, cell tracking, and biosensors are made possible by the presence of diverse functional groups on the surface of CQDs, such as thiol, carboxyl, hydroxyl, etc. This article gives thorough understanding of CQDs for drug delivery applications by describing their origin and rationale. In addition, the in-vivo characteristics of CQDs are also examined in an initiative to strengthen the argument for CQDs as powerful drug delivery vehicles.