Sustainable carbon nanodots from medicinal plants: Unlocking their biomedical and theranostic applications

Carbon nanodots (CDs) derived from medicinal plants are gaining more importance because of their distinct properties, environmental friendliness, and prospective biological and theranostic uses. Due to their low toxicity, nanoscale dimensions, biocompatibility, tunable optical characteristics, and ease of surface functionalization, they are promising candidates for drug delivery, bioimaging, theranostics, and targeted detection of cancerous cells and their organelles, such as the nucleus and mitochondria. CDs derived from medicinal plant sources including fruits, leaves, bark, stems, flowers, seeds, and bioactive substances, have been synthesized through various methods to tailor their size and properties. Further, the physicochemical and biological properties of the CDs are also enhanced by novel methods of synthesis. The plant derived CDs have many advantages including low production costs, high selectivity and sensitivity, as well as their superior photoluminescence characteristics, making them highly suitable for diverse biomedical applications. Plant-derived CDs offer diverse therapeutic value, including anticancer, neurological, cardiovascular, and antidiabetic applications. This review primarily focuses on plant-derived CDs, with particular emphasis on their method of synthesis and their wide-ranging uses in the field of theranostics and biomedical sciences. • Carbon dots are zero-dimensional carbonaceous nanomaterials. • Carbon dots synthesised from plants are sustainable and biocompatible. • Plant-derived carbon dots exhibit better selectivity and sensitivity. • Plant-derived carbon dots offer scalability with potential biomedical applications.