Review on Carbon Dots and Their Applications

Carbon dots (Cdots) have become a potential material for biosensing, drug delivery and bioimaging because of their excellent optical properties, high biocompatibility and low toxicity. Thus the preparation, properties and applications of Cdots have drawn great attention. In this review, Cdots were classified into two groups: grapheme nanodots and carbon nanodots, based on the difference in precursors and preparation methods. The synthetic methods of Cdots were summarized and their luminescence mechanism was analyzed. The applications of Cdots in biosensing, drug delivery and bioimaging were also discussed. The issues and challenges of Cdots were analyzed for their further development.