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Carbon Quantum Dots: Green Nano-biomaterials in the Future of Biosensing

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Handbook of Nanobioelectrochemistry

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Abstract

Since their casual discovery in 2004, carbon quantum dots (CDs), fluorescent carbon-based nanomaterials, were highly studied by the research community, by virtue of their particular properties, which enable a wide range of biological applications, going from chemo- and biosensing to fluorescence imaging and drug delivery. They are characterized by excellent fluorescence emission, which can be modulated from the visible to near-infrared (NIR), and their surface is rich in functional groups, which enable their functionalization with a wide range of receptors and bio-functionalities (i.e., enzymes, etc.). They also exhibit extremely low toxicity and excellent biocompatibility, which are useful for real-world biological applications. On the other hand, CDs are also expected to reduce the cost of biosensors by replacing both the noble metal substrates and the well-known quantum dots based on metal chalcogenides. Their synthesis is based on simple and sustainable approaches that could employ cheap and “greener” starting materials coming from biomass or agro-industrial waste. In this context, the present chapter will focus on CDs as new sustainable nanomaterials for biosensor applications, with particular care to optical and electrochemical biosensors. A short overview of the green synthesis strategies of CDs and their optical properties is also presented.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto di Chimica della Materia Condensata e di Tecnologie per l’Energia, ICMATE-CNR, Milan, Italy

    Barbara Vercelli

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  1. Barbara Vercelli
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Correspondence to Barbara Vercelli .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, India

    Uday Pratap Azad

  2. School of Biochemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Pranjal Chandra

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Vercelli, B. (2023). Carbon Quantum Dots: Green Nano-biomaterials in the Future of Biosensing. In: Azad, U.P., Chandra, P. (eds) Handbook of Nanobioelectrochemistry. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-9437-1_14

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