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Functionalized Carbon Nanodots for Biomedical Applications

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Carbon Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications

Part of the book series: Springer Series in Biomaterials Science and Engineering ((SSBSE,volume 5))

Abstract

The use of biological labels has greatly assisted the study of complex biochemical interactions and the monitoring of their localization during disease diagnosis and therapy. Fluorescent labeling using organic fluorophores, genetically encoded fluorescent proteins, and semiconducting quantum dots (QDs) has been demonstrated as an indispensable tool for both in vivo and in vitro cellular imaging. In contrast to the conventional organic dyes and the fluorescent proteins showing several deficiencies like broad-spectrum profiles, very short excited-state lifetimes, and their sensitivity to photobleaching, QDs have been intensively studied as a promising luminescent probe due to high resistance to photobleaching, large stokes shift, narrow size-dependent emission spectra, broad excitation spectra, and long fluorescence lifetime. In addition, they have been engineered to carry therapeutic agents for simultaneous diagnosis and therapy (theranostics). Despite these notable advantages, the implementation of QDs to a broader clinical setting is still limited because of their intrinsic toxicity and the potential environmental concerns associated with the heavy metals present in the QDs.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Science, Ulsan, Republic of Korea

    Yun Kyung Jung & Byeong-Su Kim

  2. Department of Energy Engineering, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, UNIST, 689-798, Ulsan, Republic of Korea

    Yuri Choi & Byeong-Su Kim

Authors
  1. Yun Kyung Jung
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  2. Yuri Choi
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  3. Byeong-Su Kim
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Correspondence to Byeong-Su Kim .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

    Mei Zhang

  2. Soft Matter Materials Branch, Air Force Research Laboratory, Dayton, Ohio, USA

    Rajesh R. Naik

  3. Department of Macromolecular Science, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

    Liming Dai

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Jung, Y., Choi, Y., Kim, BS. (2016). Functionalized Carbon Nanodots for Biomedical Applications. In: Zhang, M., Naik, R., Dai, L. (eds) Carbon Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications. Springer Series in Biomaterials Science and Engineering, vol 5. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22861-7_10

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