The present study aims to investigate the influence of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) Carreau nanofluid flow past a stretching cylinder with quadratic Rosseland heat radiation. This paper examines the consequences of the Soret-Dufour effects when considering the influence of thermophoresis and Brownian effects. The convective and diffusive boundary conditions have been implemented. The modeled mathematical system of non-linear partial differential equations (PDEs) is transformed into a dimensionless representation using a non-similar approach. The ensuing set of dimensionless equations are solved numerically with local non-similarity method (LNM) aided by the finite difference algorithm. The findings of the study unveil that the presence of the Dufour and Soret effect declines the heat transfer and mass transfer rates, respectively. It is also noted that flow profiles are more profound in the case of stretching cylinder configuration. Per unit increase in the hydrodynamic slip parameter augments the drag coefficient by 35.87% and 33.40% for cylinder and sheet configurations, respectively. The present study has potential applications in biomedicine, such as targeted drug delivery, hyperthermia, theranostics and cardiovascular treatments.