Abstract
Vision loss is a major complication in common ocular infections and diseases such as bacterial keratitis, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy (DR). The prevalence of such ophthalmic diseases represents an urgent need to develop safe, effective, and long-term treatments. Current therapies are riddled with drawbacks and limitations which calls for the exploration of alternative drug delivery mechanisms. Toxicity of the inorganic metals and metal oxides used for drug delivery raise safety concerns that are alleviated with the alternate use of, a natural and organic polymer which is both biocompatible and environmentally friendly. Carbon dots (CDs) represent a great potential in novel biomedical applications due to their tunable fluorescence, biocompatibility, and ability to be conjugated with diverse therapeutic materials. There is a growing interest on the exploitation of these properties for drug delivery with enhanced bio-imaging. However, there are limited reports of CD applications for ophthalmic indications. In this review, we focus on the CD potential and the development of translational therapies for ophthalmic diseases. The current review presents better understanding of fabrication of CDs and how it may be useful in delivering anti-bacterial agents, anti-VEGF molecules as well as imaging for ophthalmic applications.
Highlights
While a number of carbon allotropes are available such as graphene oxides, carbon nanotubes, and nanodiamonds, carbon dots (CDs) are the ideal choice for novel biomedical applications due to their advantages such as tunable fluorescence, excellent biocompatibility, and facile conjugation with diverse therapeutic materials (Ghosal and Ghosh, 2019; Sahiner et al, 2019)
A microwave synthesis frequently takes under 5 min using microwaves at 500– 800 W to break down the carbon bonds of the organic source (Ghosal and Ghosh, 2019)
To synthesize antibacterial CDs with a substantial therapeutic advantage that can compete with the current market, one should focus on the size, surface charge, and functionalization of the CD
Summary
While a number of carbon allotropes are available such as graphene oxides, carbon nanotubes, and nanodiamonds, carbon dots (CDs) are the ideal choice for novel biomedical applications due to their advantages such as tunable fluorescence, excellent biocompatibility, and facile conjugation with diverse therapeutic materials (Ghosal and Ghosh, 2019; Sahiner et al, 2019) With their low-cost synthesis, CDs are an ideal solution to the search for alternatives in most biomedical applications. While the advantages of CDs in therapeutics and bioimaging have been thoroughly investigated, there are limited reports of their use in ophthalmic applications Common ocular infections such as bacterial keratitis or endophthalmitis require safe and effective antibiotic treatments. Comparing the efficacy of SPDS-CDs to other common antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin and vancomycin may further validate the therapeutic potential of SPDS-CDs
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