Applications of carbon dots on tumour theranostics
Hao Wu,
Wen Su,
Huimin Xu,
Yang Zhang,
Yunchao Li,
Xiaohong Li,
Louzhen Fan
Affiliations
Hao Wu
College of Chemistry Key Laboratory of Theoretical & Computational Photochemistry, and Radiopharmaceuticals, Ministry of Education Beijing Normal University Beijing China
Wen Su
College of Chemistry Key Laboratory of Theoretical & Computational Photochemistry, and Radiopharmaceuticals, Ministry of Education Beijing Normal University Beijing China
Huimin Xu
College of Chemistry Key Laboratory of Theoretical & Computational Photochemistry, and Radiopharmaceuticals, Ministry of Education Beijing Normal University Beijing China
Yang Zhang
College of Chemistry Key Laboratory of Theoretical & Computational Photochemistry, and Radiopharmaceuticals, Ministry of Education Beijing Normal University Beijing China
Yunchao Li
College of Chemistry Key Laboratory of Theoretical & Computational Photochemistry, and Radiopharmaceuticals, Ministry of Education Beijing Normal University Beijing China
Xiaohong Li
College of Chemistry Key Laboratory of Theoretical & Computational Photochemistry, and Radiopharmaceuticals, Ministry of Education Beijing Normal University Beijing China
Louzhen Fan
College of Chemistry Key Laboratory of Theoretical & Computational Photochemistry, and Radiopharmaceuticals, Ministry of Education Beijing Normal University Beijing China
Abstract Carbon dots (CDs) have been extensively investigated as prime candidates for developing tumour theranostic platform due to their tunable fluorescence emission and excitation, good photostability, high water solubility and biocompatibility. Herein, we will update the recent research and latest development on the preparation, hydrophilicity, biotoxicity and optical property of CDs, as well as their applications in multimodal bioimaging and anticancer drug delivery. We will mainly highlight their applications in in vivo imaging and tumour‐targeted theranostics with a special emphasis on large amino acid‐mimicking carbon quantum dots‐based tumour theranostics through a large neutral amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1)‐mediated targeted strategy. Finally, we will also discuss the current status, key challenges and future directions of CDs in tumour theranostics. We expect that this review will summarize recent advances to inspire more researches on CDs for biomedical and clinical applications in the near future.
