Carbon Dots Conjugated Peptides: A Windfall in Nanomedicine

Carbon dots (CDs) have been well due to intrinsic and desirable qualities, such as tunable optical/physicochemical characteristics (like photoluminescence and absorptivity), high photostability, and biocompatibility. These are considered as a reliable alternative to traditional fluorophores for applications in disease diagnosis, early treatment, and healthcare sector. Furthermore, a key advantage of CDs is their ability to undergo surface modification, which allows them to be functionalized with various ligands. Among the ligands, peptides are particularly effective for modifying the CDs surface due to their inherent compatibility and similar characteristics. Peptides are also highly recommended for the surface modification because they are water-soluble and possess excellent biocompatibility. Numerous reports of successfully created CD-peptide nanoconjugates have demonstrated the broad range of applications. This review, elaborates the fundamental properties, characteristics, preparation and synthesis principles of CDs-peptide conjugates. We offer a comprehensive overview of CD-peptide nanoconjugates, detailing their main features and exploring their broad applications in areas like tissue/cell imaging, drug delivery, and sensing. Ultimately, this review serves to give readers a clear understanding of the utility of these developed CD-peptide nanoconjugates in nanoscience.