Functionalized carbon dots enable simultaneous bone crack detection and drug deposition

Recently, carbon dots (CDs) have become one of the most sought nanomaterials for biological applications owing to their excellent fluorescence, chemical inertness and biocompatibility. This article depicts the generation of a fluorescent nano probe using CDs for viewing bone cracks and simultaneous drug delivery to the cracked or infected sites. Water soluble polyethylene glycol diamine capped CDs were conjugated with glutamic acid (GA), a calcium targeting ligand, and ciprofloxacin as an antibacterial model drug. Physicochemical characterizations, cytotoxicity evaluation, haemolysis and antibacterial activity studies of the synthesized probe and its ability to target onto bone are demonstrated. Our results indicate that there is significant scope in developing functionalized CDs as theranostic agents.