# A Strategic Review on Carbon Quantum Dots for Cancer-Diagnostics and Treatment

## TL;DR

This paper reviews carbon quantum dots from natural sources for cancer diagnosis and treatment, highlighting their advantages over traditional quantum dots.

## Contribution

The paper introduces CQDs derived from natural sources as a promising alternative for cancer theranostics.

## Key findings

- Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) offer excellent photostability and biocompatibility for bioimaging and drug delivery.
- CQDs from natural sources are easier and cheaper to synthesize compared to toxic inorganic QDs.
- CQDs have tunable optical properties and potential for clinical transformation in cancer theranostics.

## Abstract

The understanding of the genesis of life-threatening cancer and its invasion calls for urgent development of novel technologies for real-time observations, early diagnosis, and treatment. Quantum dots (QDs) grabbed the spotlight in oncology owing to their excellent photostability, bright fluorescence, high biocompatibility, good electrical and chemical stability with minimum invasiveness. Recently, carbon QDs (CQDs) have become popular over toxic inorganic QDs in the area of bioimaging, biosensing, and drug delivery. Further, CQDs derived from natural sources like biomolecules and medicinal plants have drawn attention because of their one-pot, low-cost and ease of synthesis, along with remarkable tunable optical properties and biocompatibility. This review introduces the synthesis and properties of CQDs derived from natural sources, focusing on the applicability of CQD-based technologies as nano-theranostics for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Furthermore, the current issues and future directions for the transformation of CQDs-based nanotechnologies to clinical applications are highlighted.