Recent Progress on Chiral Carbon Dots: Synthetic Strategies and Biomedical Applications

Abstract

The discovery of chiral carbon dots (Ch-CDs) has opened up an exciting new research direction in the field of carbon dots. It not only retains the chirality of the precursor and exhibits highly symmetric chiral optical properties but also has properties such as chemical stability, antibacterial and antitumor properties, and good biocompatibility of carbon dots. Based on these advantages, the application of Ch-CDs in the biomedical field has attracted significant interest among researchers. However, a comprehensive review of the selection of precursors for Ch-CDs, preparation methods, and applications in biomedical fields is still lacking. Here, we summarize their precursor selection and preparation methods based on recent reports on Ch-CDs and provide the first comprehensive review for specific applications in biomedical engineering, such as biosensing, bioimaging, drug carriers, antibacterial and antibiofilm, and enzyme activity modulation. Finally, we discuss application prospects and challenges that need to be overcome. We hope this review will provide valuable guidance for researchers to prepare novel Ch-CDs and facilitate their application in biomedical engineering.

Gram-scale synthesis of aggregation-caused quenching-resistant red-emissive carbon dots for potential applications

“…5–10 In general, two approaches are used for CD synthesis: top-down and bottom-up, employing a huge number of organic and natural precursors. 11 Carbon dots are frequently developed in dispersed states, and when they solidify, they result in aggregation-caused quenching in the majority of cases. This phenomenon mainly occurs due to H-bonding, stacking interactions, and energy transfer.…”

Efficient Mechanochemical Conversion of Elemental Sulfur to Circularly Polarized Luminescent Sulfur Quantum Dots

“…While previous studies have focused on the synthesis, characterization, and application of achiral Sdots, exploring their chiral properties remains limited. The incorporation of chirality in nanomaterials has demonstrated significant potential in optical, enantioseparation, asymmetric synthesis, chiral recognition, biochemical, and biomedical applications. − The development of inherently chiral materials and studying their intrinsic chiroptical properties provide valuable information to unravel the origin of homochirality in nature . Hence, intrinsic chirality has advantages over introducing chirality by functionalization of ligands or template-assisted fabrication .…”

Carbon Dots in Enantioselective Sensing

“…Enantiorecognition needs, of course, a chiral structure in the sensing device. The object of this review is the use, to this purpose, of chiral carbon dots or chiral composites containing CDs [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ].…”