Carbon Dots: Recent Advancements and Biomedical Applications
Abstract
One of the most advantageous nanomaterials ever discovered by humans, carbon dots (CDs), are a relatively new invention. They are principally made of a carbonized carbon core to which heteroatoms connected to organic functional groups are added. CDs possess a range of fascinating attributes, including the ability to adjust their excitation and emission properties, chemical stability, resistance to photo-induced degradation, minimal harm to living organisms, high compatibility with biological systems, straightforward handling, and environmentally friendly characteristics. There has been a substantial rise in research efforts related to the creation, analysis, adjustment, and enhancement of properties through doping or the design of composite materials. It has been shown that their work in a variety of fields—including chemical and biological sensing, bio-imaging, drug delivery, photo-catalysis, electro-catalysis, and light-emitting devices—makes them ideal and a likely choice for biomedical use. The great structural diversity of CD-based materials, however, means that there is still much fundamental knowledge to be discovered, making the area of their chemistry incomplete. This chapter offers a number of fresh perspectives on the chemistry of materials based on CDs, including those pertaining to the structure, categorization, characteristics, and biomedical uses of CDs. The chapter attempts to further inform biomedical researchers about the potential of CDs and the necessity to overcome various technological problems. The obstacles and potential future prospects of biomedicine based on CDs are also discussed.