Affiliation:
1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Mahidol University 25/25 Puttamonthon 4 Road Nakhon Pathom 73170 Thailand
2. National Nanotechnology Center (NANOTEC) National Science and Technology, Development Agency (NSTDA) 111 Thailand Science Park, Phahonyothin Rd, Klong Nueng, Klong Luang Pathum Thani 12120 Thailand
3. The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi 126 Pracha Uthit Road, Bang Mot, Thung Khru Bangkok 10140 Thailand
4. Department of Chemical Engineering National Taiwan University No.1, Sec.4 Roosevelt Road Taipei 10617 Taiwan
5. Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Nanomedicine National Health Research Institutes Miaoli 35053 Taiwan
6. Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Yuan Ze University Chung-Li, Taoyuan Taiwan
Abstract
AbstractCarbon dots (CDs) are novel carbon‐based luminescent materials with wide‐ranging applications in biosensing, bioimaging, drug transportation, optical devices, and beyond. Their advantageous attributes, including biocompatibility, biodegradability, antioxidant activity, photostability, small particle size (<10 nm), and strong light absorption and excitation across a broad range of wavelengths, making them promising candidates in the field of photodynamic therapy (PDT) as photosensitizers (PSs). Further enhancements in functionality are imperative to enhance the effectiveness of CDs in PDT applications, notwithstanding their inherent benefits. Recently, doping agents and solvents have been demonstrated to improve CDs’ optical properties, solubility, cytotoxicity, and organelle targeting efficiency. These improvements result from modifications to the CDs’ carbon skeleton matrices, functional groups on the surface state, and chemical structures. This review discusses the modification of CDs with heteroatom dopants, dye dopants, and solvents to improve their physicochemical and optical properties for PDT applications. The correlations between the surface chemistry, functional groups, the structure of the CDs, and their optical characteristics toward quantum yield, redshift feature, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, have also been discussed. Finally, the progressive trends for the use of CDs in PDT applications are also addressed in this review.