Carbon Dots: An Innovative Tool for Drug Delivery in Brain Tumors

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 22; no. 21; p. 11783
• Main Authors: Calabrese, Giovanna, De Luca, Giovanna, Nocito, Giuseppe, Rizzo, Maria Giovanna, Lombardo, Sofia Paola, Chisari, Giulia, Forte, Stefano, Sciuto, Emanuele Luigi, Conoci, Sabrina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 29.10.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Adults; Animals; Antineoplastic Agents - administration & dosage; Antineoplastic Agents - pharmacokinetics; Biocompatibility; Blood-brain barrier; Blood-Brain Barrier - drug effects; Blood-Brain Barrier - metabolism; Body fluids; Brain cancer; Brain Neoplasms - drug therapy; Brain Neoplasms - metabolism; Brain tumors; Cancer; Cancer therapies; Carbon - chemistry; Carbon dots; Central nervous system; Chemical compounds; Children; Disease management; Drug Carriers - chemistry; Drug delivery; Drug delivery systems; Drug Delivery Systems - methods; Drug development; Drug therapy; Humans; Medical innovations; Morbidity; nanocarriers; nanoparticles; Neoplasms; Pharmacology; Photoluminescence; Photons; Review; Tumors; Young adults; blood-brain barrier; carbon dots; brain tumors; nanoparticles; nanocarriers; drug-delivery systems; theranostic
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms222111783

Brain tumors are particularly aggressive and represent a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in adults and children, affecting the global population and being responsible for 2.6% of all cancer deaths (as well as 30% of those in children and 20% in young adults). The blood-brain barrier (BBB) excludes almost 100% of the drugs targeting brain neoplasms, representing one of the most significant challenges to current brain cancer therapy. In the last decades, carbon dots have increasingly played the role of drug delivery systems with theranostic applications against cancer, thanks to their bright photoluminescence, solubility in bodily fluids, chemical stability, and biocompatibility. After a summary outlining brain tumors and the current drug delivery strategies devised in their therapeutic management, this review explores the most recent literature about the advances and open challenges in the employment of carbon dots as both diagnostic and therapeutic agents in the treatment of brain cancers, together with the strategies devised to allow them to cross the BBB effectively.