Bioinspired Camellia japonica carbon dots with high near-infrared absorbance for efficient photothermal cancer therapy.

Abstract

Since carbon dots (CDs) exhibit excellent biocompatibility, low cytotoxicity, near-infrared (NIR) absorbance, and superior photostability, many types of CDs are considered as powerful candidates for photothermal therapy (PTT) applications. However, the development of a desirable CD is still difficult due to insufficient photothermal conversion, thus resulting in the use of high laser power densities at a high dose of CDs for the PTT effect. Herein, bioinspired sulfur-doped CDs (S-CDs) with strong NIR absorbance were prepared from Camellia japonica flowers via a facile hydrothermal method for enhancing the photothermal conversion efficiency. The as-prepared S-CDs exhibited various advantages including cost-effective preparation, good water-solubility, high biocompatibility, intense NIR absorption, and excellent photothermal effect with robust photostability. Most importantly, the optimal low dose of S-CDs (45 μg mL-1) successfully led to efficient PTT performance with a high photothermal conversion efficiency (55.4%) under moderate laser power (808 nm, 1.1 W cm-2) for safe and effective cancer therapy.

• Authors: Dohun Kim, Gayoung Jo, Yujin Chae, Surendran Subramani, Bo Young Lee, Eun Jeong Kim, Min-Kyung Ji, Uk Sim, Hoon Hyun
• Journal: Nanoscale (Nanoscale) Vol. 13 Issue 34 Pg. 14426-14434 (Sep 02 2021) ISSN: 2040-3372 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 34473179 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Carbon

Topics

• Camellia
• Carbon
• Humans
• Neoplasms (drug therapy)
• Phototherapy
• Photothermal Therapy