Carbon dots: Types, preparation, and their boosted antibacterial activity by photoactivation. Current status and future perspectives

• Published in: Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Nanomedicine and nanobiotechnology Vol. 15; no. 4; pp. e1887 - n/a
• Main Authors: Lagos, Karina J., García, David, Cuadrado, Coralía Fabiola, Souza, Larissa Marila, Mezzacappo, Natasha Ferreira, Silva, Ana Paula, Inada, Natalia, Bagnato, Vanderlei, Romero, María Paulina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-07-2023; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use; Antibacterial activity; Antibacterial agents; antibacterial materials; antiviral materials; Biocompatibility; Carbon; Carbon dots; carbon‐based materials; Graphene; Graphite; Humans; Hybrids; Infectious diseases; Nanomaterials; Nanotechnology; Photoactivation; Photodynamic therapy; Photosensitizing Agents; photothermal therapy; Polymers; Quantum Dots; Toxicity; antiviral materials; photodynamic therapy; antibacterial materials; photothermal therapy; carbon-based materials
• ISSN: 1939-5116; 1939-0041
• DOI: 10.1002/wnan.1887

Carbon dots (CDs) correspond to carbon‐based materials (CBM) with sizes usually below 10 nm. These nanomaterials exhibit attractive properties such us low toxicity, good stability, and high conductivity, which have promoted their thorough study over the past two decades. The current review describes four types of CDs: carbon quantum dots (CQDs), graphene quantum dots (GQDs), carbon nanodots (CNDs), and carbonized polymers dots (CPDs), together with the state of the art of the main routes for their preparation, either by “top‐down” or “bottom‐up” approaches. Moreover, among the various usages of CDs within biomedicine, we have focused on their application as a novel class of broad‐spectrum antibacterial agents, concretely, owing their photoactivation capability that triggers an enhanced antibacterial property. Our work presents the recent advances in this field addressing CDs, their composites and hybrids, applied as photosensitizers (PS), and photothermal agents (PA) within antibacterial strategies such as photodynamic therapy (PDT), photothermal therapy (PTT), and synchronic PDT/PTT. Furthermore, we discuss the prospects for the possible future development of large‐scale preparation of CDs, and the potential for these nanomaterials to be employed in applications to combat other pathogens harmful to human health.
This article is categorized under:
Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Infectious Disease
Types, preparation and photoactivated antibacterial activity of Carbon Dots.