Highly Crystalline Multicolor Carbon Nanodots for Dual-Modal Imaging-Guided Photothermal Therapy of Glioma

Imaging-guided site-specific photothermal therapy (PTT) of glioma and other tumors in central nervous system presents a great challenge for the current nanomaterial design. Herein, an in situ solid-state transformation method was developed for the preparation of multicolor highly crystalline carbon nanodots (HCCDs). The synthesis yields 6–8 nm-sized HCCDs containing a highly crystalline carbon nanocore and a hydrophilic surface, which therefore simultaneously provide strong photoacoustic and photothermal performances as well as tunable fluorescence emission. In vitro and in vivo results demonstrate that the novel HCCDs have high water dispersity and good biocompatibility, but potent tumor cell killing upon near-infrared irradiation. As demonstrated in U87 glioma-bearing mice, HCCDs specifically accumulate in brain tumors and facilitate dual-modal imaging-guided PTT, with therapeutic antitumoral effects without any apparent damage to normal tissues.