Small Warriors of Nature: Novel Red Emissive Chlorophyllin Carbon Dots Harnessing Fenton-Fueled Ferroptosis for In Vitro and In Vivo Cancer Treatment.

The appeal of carbon dots (CDs) has grown recently, due to their established biocompatibility, adjustable photoluminescence properties, and excellent water solubility. For the first time in the literature, copper chlorophyllin-based carbon dots (Chl-D CDs) are successfully synthesized. Chl-D CDs exhibit unique spectroscopic traits and are found to induce a Fenton-like reaction, augmenting photodynamic therapy (PDT) efficacies via ferroptotic and apoptotic pathways.

Rose Bengal Photodynamic Antimicrobial Therapy: A Review of the Intermediate-Term Clinical and Surgical Outcomes.

Purpose: To evaluate the intermediate-term clinical outcomes of Rose Bengal Photodynamic Antimicrobial Therapy (RB-PDAT) for infectious keratitis; secondarily, to evaluate the surgical outcomes of individuals who underwent optical keratoplasty after RB-PDAT.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Method: A retrospective chart review was performed of 31 eyes from 30 consecutive individuals with infectious keratitis refractory to standard medical therapy who underwent RB-PDAT at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute between January 2016 and July 2020.

DFMO Carbon Dots for Treatment of Neuroblastoma and Bioimaging.

Neuroblastoma (NB) is a pediatric malignancy affecting the peripheral nervous system. Despite recent advancements in treatment, many children affected with NB continue to submit to this illness, and new therapeutic strategies are desperately needed. In recent years, studies of carbon dots (CDs) as nanocarriers have mostly focused on the delivery of anticancer agents because of their biocompatibility, good aqueous dissolution, and photostability.

Structure-Activity Relationship of Carbon Nitride Dots in Inhibiting Tau Aggregation.

Due to the numerous failed clinical trials of anti-amyloid drugs, microtubule associated protein tau (MAPT) now stands out as one of the most promising targets for AD therapy. In this study, we report for the first time the structure-dependent MAPT aggregation inhibition of carbon nitride dots (CNDs). CNDs have exhibited great promise as a potential treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) by inhibiting the aggregation of MAPT.

Drug delivery of memantine with carbon dots for Alzheimer's disease: blood-brain barrier penetration and inhibition of tau aggregation.

Neurofibrillary tangle, composed of aggregated tau protein, is a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The inhibition of tau aggregation is therefore an important direction for AD drug discovery. In this work, we explored the efficacy of two types of carbon dots in targeting tau aggregation, as versatile nano-carriers for the development of carbon dots (CDs)-based AD therapy.

Rose Bengal and Riboflavin Mediated Photodynamic Antimicrobial Therapy Against Selected South Florida Nocardia Keratitis Isolates.

Purpose: To examine and compare the efficacy of in vitro growth inhibition using rose bengal and riboflavin photodynamic antimicrobial therapy (PDAT) for Nocardia keratitis isolates.

Methods: Nocardia asteroides complex, Nocardia amikacinitolerans, and Nocardia farcinica species were isolated from patients with confirmed Nocardia keratitis. Isolates were tested against three experimental groups: (1) no photosensitizer/no irradiation, (2) photosensitizer/no irradiation, and (3) photosensitizer/irradiation.

Development of Red-Emissive Carbon Dots for Bioimaging through a Building Block Approach: Fundamental and Applied Studies.

In recent years, many researchers have struggled to obtain carbon dots (CDs) that possess strong photoluminescence in the red region of light. Success in this area has been limited, although the past few years have brought several promising reports on this topic. The most successful efforts in this area still seem to struggle from a lack of dispersibility/reduced emission in water.

The use of nanotechnology to combat liver cancer: Progress and perspectives.

Liver cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide and is also one of the most difficult cancers to treat, resulting in almost one million deaths per year, and the danger of this cancer is compounded when the tumor is nonresectable. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of liver cancer and has the third highest mortality rate worldwide. Considering the morbid statistics surrounding this cancer it is a popular research topic to target for better therapy practices.

Rose Bengal Photodynamic Antimicrobial Therapy: A Pilot Safety Study.

Purpose: To evaluate the in vivo corneal changes after Rose Bengal photodynamic antimicrobial therapy (RB-PDAT) treatment in New Zealand White rabbits.

Methods: Sixteen rabbits were divided into 5 groups. All groups underwent deepithelialization of an 8 mm diameter area in the central cornea.

Surface Chemistry Studies on the Formation of Mixed Stearic Acid/Phenylalanine Dehydrogenase Langmuir and Langmuir-Blodgett Films.

This work investigates the physicochemical properties of mixed stearic acid (HSt)/phenylalanine dehydrogenase enzyme (PheDH) Langmuir films and their immobilization onto solid supports as Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films. PheDH from the aqueous subphase enters the surfactant matrix up to an exclusion surface pressure of 25.3 mN/m, leading to the formation of stable and highly condensed mixed Langmuir monolayers.

Detection of singlet oxygen luminescence for experimental corneal rose bengal photodynamic antimicrobial therapy.

Rose bengal photodynamic antimicrobial therapy (RB-PDAT) treats corneal infection by activating rose bengal (RB) with green light to produce singlet oxygen (O). Singlet oxygen dosimetry can help optimize treatment parameters. We present a O dosimeter for detection of O generated during experimental RB-PDAT.

Size-Dependent Photocatalytic Activity of Carbon Dots with Surface-State Determined Photoluminescence.

Carbon dots (CDs) were synthesized by a microwave-mediated method and separated by size exclusion chromatography into three different size fractions. There was no correlation of the size with photoluminescence (PL) emission wavelength, which shows that the PL mechanism is not quantum-size dependent. UV/vis absorption and diffuse reflectance spectroscopies showed that the light absorption properties as well as the band gap of the CDs changed with the size of the particle.

Facile Synthesis of "Boron-Doped" Carbon Dots and Their Application in Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Dyes.

Carbon dots (C-dots) were facilely fabricated via a hydrothermal method and fully characterized. Our study shows that the as-synthesized C-dots are nontoxic, negatively charged spherical particles (average diameter 4.7 nm) with excellent water dispersion ability.

Direct conjugation of distinct carbon dots as Lego-like building blocks for the assembly of versatile drug nanocarriers.

As a promising drug nanocarrier, carbon dots (CDs) have exhibited many excellent properties. However, some properties such as bone targeting and crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB) only apply to a certain CD preparation with limited drug loading capacity. Therefore, it is significant to conjugate distinct CDs to centralize many unique properties on the novel drug nanocarrier.

Tyrosinase enzyme Langmuir monolayer: Surface chemistry and spectroscopic study.

This study investigates the surface chemistry properties of the tyrosinase enzyme Langmuir monolayer at air-aqueous interface using sodium chloride in the subphase to induce the surface activity of the enzyme. Investigation of surface packing and stability of the tyrosinase Langmuir monolayer were performed using surface chemistry experiments while spectroscopic analysis was done to study enzyme conformation. It was found that the tyrosinase enzyme forms a fluid film at air-aqueous interface with good stability as shown by compression-decompression cycles experiments and stability measurements at various surface pressures.

Surface chemistry and spectroscopic studies of the native phenylalanine dehydrogenase Langmuir monolayer at the air/aqueous NaCl interface.

This study investigates the main aspects of the surface behavior of the native phenylalanine dehydrogenase (PheDH) enzyme at the air/aqueous interface employing a saline subphase to induce the enzyme surface activity. Surface chemistry experiments were performed in order to determine the surface packing and stability of the formed layer, while spectroscopic experiments provided information regarding its secondary structure conformation. It was found that the PheDH enzyme forms a fluid film, which is quite homogeneous throughout its entire compression, being stable for long periods of time with no significant evidence of aggregates or irreversible domains during interfacial compression/decompression processes.

Carbon Dots: Diverse Preparation, Application, and Perspective in Surface Chemistry.

Carbon dots (CDs) are a novel class of nanoparticles with excellent properties. The development of CDs involves versatile synthesis, characterization, and various applications. However, the importance of surface chemistry of CDs, especially in applications, is often underestimated.

Triple conjugated carbon dots as a nano-drug delivery model for glioblastoma brain tumors.

Most of the dual nano drug delivery systems fail to enter malignant brain tumors due to a lack of proper targeting systems and the size increase of the nanoparticles after drug conjugation. Therefore, a triple conjugated system was developed with carbon dots (C-dots), which have an average particle size of 1.5-1.

Recent development of carbon quantum dots regarding their optical properties, photoluminescence mechanism, and core structure.

Carbon quantum dots (CDs) are a relatively new class of carbon nanomaterials which have been studied very much in the last fifteen years to improve their already favorable properties. The optical properties of CDs have drawn particular interest as they display the unusual trait of excitation-dependent emission, as well as high fluorescence quantum yields (QY), long photoluminescence (PL) decay lifetimes, and photostability. These qualities naturally lead researchers to apply CDs in the field of imaging (particularly bio-imaging) and sensing.

Tryptophan carbon dots and their ability to cross the blood-brain barrier.

Drug traversal across the blood-brain barrier has come under increasing scrutiny recently, particularly concerning the treatment of sicknesses, such as brain cancer and Alzheimer's disease. Most therapies and medicines are limited due to their inability to cross this barrier, reducing treatment options for maladies affecting the brain. Carbon dots show promise as drug carriers, but they experience the same limitations regarding crossing the blood-brain barrier as many small molecules do.