Work

Illuminating metabolic disorders with engineered fluorescent carbon dots: advances in biosensing to therapeutics

Year: 2026

Type: review

Abstract: , nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus) have expanded the potential biomedical applications. CDs are also being investigated as carriers for antidiabetic and lipid-regulating agents, with the potential to improve drug loading, delivery, and release. Furthermore, certain CDs exhibit antioxidant activity that may help mitigate oxidative stress associated with metabolic disorders. These developments highlight the emerging potential of CDs in integrated diagnostic-and-therapeutic, or theranostic, platforms. This review critically examines the applications of CDs in acquired metabolic disorders, emphasizing sensing mechanisms, analytical performance, biological validation, and emerging therapeutic strategies. It also discusses key challenges, including biosafety, biodistribution, pharmacokinetics, long-term toxicity, reproducibility, scalable production, and the gap between laboratory-based findings and clinical translation. Further validation in appropriate biological models and clinical samples is essential before their diagnostic and therapeutic efficacy can be established.

Source: RSC Advances

DOI: 10.1039/d6ra08491e

Authors: Gayatri Prasad, Mansi Srivastava, Sunita Devi, Prabhanshu Tripathi, Vikram Singh

Institutions: Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research

Language: English

Topic: Carbon and Quantum Dots Applications

Subfield: Materials Chemistry

Field: Materials Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,042