REVIEW article

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

Sec. Nanobiotechnology

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1613901

This article is part of the Research TopicDrug Delivery Systems for Mineralized Tissue RegenerationView all articles

Carbon Dots-based Drug Delivery for Bone Regeneration

Provisionally accepted
Christy  LiuChristy Liu1Yingzi  LiYingzi Li2Xiaohua  LiuXiaohua Liu2*
  • 1Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States
  • 2Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Department, University of Missouri, Columbia, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Carbon dots (CDs) are a class of nanobiomaterials with significant potential in bone regeneration. Their excellent biocompatibility, tunable fluorescence, high stability, low toxicity, and abundant functional groups make CDs promising candidates for efficient drug delivery and bone tissue regeneration. CDs contribute to targeted drug release, enhance osteogenic differentiation, and interact with cellular components to facilitate bone formation. Recent research highlights the roles of CDs in scaffold-based approaches, offering controlled drug delivery and real-time bioimaging capabilities. This review provides a comprehensive overview of CDs in bone regeneration, with a focus on their synthesis, functionalization, and biomedical applications. It begins by exploring CD synthesis methods, physicochemical properties, and mechanisms of action. Next, it discusses CD-based drug delivery systems and their applications in bone regeneration. Finally, the review highlights the challenges and future perspectives in optimizing CDs for enhanced therapeutic outcomes.

Keywords: carbon dots, Drug delivery, Bone, Tissue Engineering, nanomaterials

Received: 17 Apr 2025; Accepted: 19 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Liu, Li and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Xiaohua Liu, Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Department, University of Missouri, Columbia, United States

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