Applications of Carbon Dots for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract

There are currently approximately 50 million victims of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) worldwide. The exact cause of the disease is unknown at this time, but amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain are hallmarks of the disease. Current drug treatments for AD may slow the progression of the disease and improve the quality of life of patients, but they are often only minimally effective and are not cures. A major obstacle to developing and delivering more effective drug therapies is the presence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which prevents many compounds with therapeutic potential from reaching the central nervous system. Nanotechnology may provide a solution to this problem. Among the medical nanomaterials currently being studied, carbon dots (CDs) have attracted widespread attention because of their ability to cross the BBB, non-toxicity, and potential for drug/gene delivery.