Drug delivery to the central nervous system (CNS) is currently a major medical challenge due to the presence of the blood–brain–barrier (BBB) which blocks the transport of a drug. Carbon dots (C-Dots) have recently been studied for drug delivery with potential to treat CNS disease. However, there is no study on whether C-Dots or C-Dots conjugates can cross the BBB to enter the CNS. Here we use a zebrafish model to explore the possibility of using C-Dots or C-Dots conjugates to ferry compounds across the BBB. The experimental observations suggest that the transferrin-C-Dots can enter the CNS possibly through the receptor mediated endocytosis while C-Dots alone cannot. The results from this study provide a strategy to deliver C-Dots to cross the BBB. Our most recent experiment also demonstrates that the “dark” C-Dots can be applied for bioimaging bones with high specificity <i>in vivo</i> with strong fluorescence.

Crossing blood–brain–barrier and bio-imaging using carbon dots: A zebrafish model study

251st National Meeting (2016)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.