Biogenic Carbon Quantum Dots to Ferry Theragnostic Agents Across the Blood–Brain Barrier
摘要
This chapter has focused on the use of carbon dots (C-dots) along with other novel interdisciplinary approaches for the theragnostic of neurodegenerative diseases (NDD). For the treatment of NDD, the major requirement is to deliver the theragnostic agents to the brain that can pass through the Holy Grail blood–brain barrier (BBB) that has organized capillary endothelial cells that obstruct penetration of therapeutic agents like antibodies, peptides, proteins, etc. Moreover, the brain’s savior also hinders the passage of some small molecules. Consequently, to overcome this, based on the report the permeability coefficient (Papp) of nanoparticles with a size <30 nm is higher; therefore, C-dots are found to be more suitable and scientists have ventured to use C-dots for treating NDDs such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, meningitis, and Huntington’s disease. These diseases involve the brain and central nervous system. A brief introduction to the structure, properties, and synthesis of C-dots is discussed. Intense fluorescence, long fluorescence lifetime, enhanced photostability, broad excitation spectra, narrow tunable emission spectra, and biocompatibility are the attributes that make C-dots a potential trifunctional nanomaterial for drug delivery, photothermal therapy, and bioimaging. Attention is paid to addressing the suitability of C-dots in healthcare. The advantage of using C-dots is that it can be used as a navigating molecule for targeted drug delivery, tracking, and diagnosis purposes, and above all C-dots can pass the BBB.