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Synthesis, Cellular Delivery and In vivo Application of Dendrimer-based pH Sensors
Published on: September 10, 2013
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Curcuminoid-Linked Lemon-Derived Carbon Dots for pH-Triggered Drug Release
Priyanka Mathur1, Meera Mori1, Foram Patel2
1Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat 390002, India.
ACS Omega
|June 9, 2025
Summary
Lemon-derived carbon dots (LCDs) linked with curcuminoids create novel supramolecular architectures for bioimaging and drug delivery. These curcuminoid-linked lemon carbon dots (CL-LCDs) show promise for targeted cancer therapy and tumor visualization.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Carbon dots derived from natural sources like lemons offer sustainable building blocks for advanced materials.
- Curcuminoids, natural compounds with optical properties, can be utilized to functionalize nanomaterials.
- Supramolecular architectures are crucial for developing targeted drug delivery systems and advanced imaging agents.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and synthesize supramolecular architectures using lemon-derived carbon dots (LCDs) and curcuminoids.
- To evaluate the potential of these architectures for bioimaging and drug delivery applications.
- To investigate the anticancer activity and drug release profiles of methotrexate-loaded CL-LCDs.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of curcuminoid-linked lemon carbon dots (CL-LCDs) via ester linkage.
- Characterization of CL-LCDs using High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HR-TEM) and Field Emission Gun Scanning Electron Microscopy (FEG-SEM).
- Encapsulation of methotrexate (MTX) and evaluation of its sustained release under different pH conditions.
- Assessment of anticancer activity against HeLa cells and photoluminescence recovery post-drug release.
Main Results:
- CL-LCDs-1 exhibited suitable optical characteristics for bioimaging applications.
- All CL-LCD derivatives were approximately 10 nm in size, suitable for drug delivery.
- Methotrexate-loaded CL-LCDs demonstrated sustained drug release, with CL-LCDs-3 showing 27.50% release at pH 5.5 after 7 days.
- MTX-loaded CL-LCDs-1 displayed significant anticancer activity against HeLa cells, with recovered photoluminescence after drug release.
Conclusions:
- Curcuminoid-linked lemon carbon dots form effective supramolecular architectures for dual bioimaging and drug delivery.
- The developed CL-LCDs show potential for targeted anticancer therapy and real-time tumor imaging.
- The sustainable origin and versatile properties of CL-LCDs highlight their promise in nanomedicine.
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