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Carbon Dots—Promising Nanomaterials

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2020) | Viewed by 3863

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, 1301 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
Interests: carbon-based nanomaterials; molecular recognition; surface chemistry and spectroscopy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
Interests: carbon dots; nanomaterials; purification; separation; characterizations; photocatalysis; drug delivery; gene therapy; Alzheimer’s disease; oncology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
Interests: surface chemistry; nanoscience; biosensing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Carbon dots are spherical nanoparticles with an average size less than 10 nm. Due to their high photoluminescence and good biocompatibility, they have received special attention in recent years. The synthesis method and surface modification play major roles on the properties of carbon dots, such as photoluminescence intensity and chemical activity. Therefore, the first aim of this Special Issue is the discussion of novel synthesis and surface modification techniques of carbon dots. Moreover, considering many potential in vivo applications of carbon dots, we especially welcome the idea of synthesis of long-emissive carbon dots.

Due to the abundance of surface functionalities, carbon dots are excellent nanocarriers and can be conjugated with varieties of drugs species for drug delivery. Carbon dots-mediated drug delivery shows a great promise in the treatment of cancer and various diseases. In addition, carbon dots are the smallest nanocarriers, which endows them with the potential to cross the blood–brain barrier. Therefore, drug delivery with carbon dots as nanocarriers is the second aim of this Special Issue. In particular, studies related to crossing the blood–brain barrier with carbon dots are also a focus of the second aim.

In addition, studies investigating the structure of carbon dots, especially the core, are expected to be included in the Special Issue to enhance the scientific knowledge on these material systems.

Prof. Dr. Roger M. Leblanc
Dr. Yiqun Zhou
Dr. Shiv K. Sharma
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • Carbon dots synthesis
  • Surface modification
  • Drug delivery
  • Crossing the blood–brain barrier
  • Core of carbon dots

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 4445 KiB  
Article
Smart, Tunable CQDs with Antioxidant Properties for Biomedical Applications—Ecofriendly Synthesis and Characterization
by Łukasz Janus, Julia Radwan-Pragłowska, Marek Piątkowski and Dariusz Bogdał
Molecules 2020, 25(3), 736; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25030736 - 08 Feb 2020
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3487
Abstract
Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) are nanoobjects of a size below 10 nm. Due to their favorable features, such as tunable luminescence, unique optical properties, water solubility, and lack of cytotoxicity, they are willingly applied in biomedicine. They can be obtained via bottom-up and [...] Read more.
Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) are nanoobjects of a size below 10 nm. Due to their favorable features, such as tunable luminescence, unique optical properties, water solubility, and lack of cytotoxicity, they are willingly applied in biomedicine. They can be obtained via bottom-up and top-down methods. However, to increase their quantum yield they must undergo post-processing. The aim of the following research was to obtain a new type of CQDs modified with a rhodamine b derivative to enhance their fluorescence performance without biocompability deterioration. For their preparation glucose was used as a precursor and four different carbonizing agents which affected semi- and final products luminescence properties. The ready nanomaterials were investigated over their chemical structure by FTIR and NMR, whereas morphology was investigated by the TEM method. Their optical properties were determined by UV–VIS spectroscopy. Fluorescence behavior, photo- and pH-stability, as well as solvatochromism showed their applicability in various biomedical applications due to the controlled properties. The samples exhibited excellent antioxidant activity and lack of cytotoxicity on L929 mouse fibroblasts. The results showed that proposed strategy enables preparation of the superior nanomaterials with outstanding luminescence properties such as quantum yield up to 17% which can be successfully applied in cell labelling, bioimaging, and theranostics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Dots—Promising Nanomaterials)
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