Chapter 10 Carbon dots in photothermal therapy

Cancer is one of the global health threats and several developed therapies are undergoing evolution with advancements in nanotechnology and awareness of tumor microenvironments. Low-dimensional carbon-based nanomaterials like carbon dots (CDs) and their derivatives have the potential of treating cancer at the preclinical level. Zero-dimensional CDs are unique in their physical, chemical, and biomedical properties. Characteristics such as high surface area, broad absorption spectrum, high hydrophilicity, tunable fluorescence, photo-stability, and biocompatibility are significant in healthcare applications like fluorescence sensing, imaging, and drug delivery. As a photosensitizer, CDs produce reactive oxygen species under light and convert light energy to heat as a photothermal agent. Thus, CDs have applications in photodynamic therapy or photothermal therapy (PTT) of cancer. In this chapter, the functionalized CDs and their synthetic approaches are discussed to provide photothermal aspects of CDs. The mechanism of PTT and scope of therapeutic efficacy of CD-based phototheranostic is highlighted. An insight into the challenges of limiting the clinical application of CDs is provided to prompt advances in phototherapy.