Emerging Versatile Role of Carbon Quantum Dots in Theranostics Applications for Breast Cancer Management

Breast cancer (BC) is major malignancy condition among women globally. Despite significant advancements for its treatment, oncologists still encountering major challenges for the early diagnosis and prognosis due to lack of targeted therapies, which ultimately underscores the need for novel therapeutic approaches. In recent years, nanomaterials have emerged as promising tools for early diagnosis and treatment at the cellular level. Among these, carbon quantum dots (CQDs), a type of fluorescent carbon-based nanoparticle have gained attention as versatile theranostics platforms in the biomedical fields. This review primarily focuses on the diverse roles of CQDs in BC, emphasizing their potential in targeted drug delivery, enhanced imaging, and combined therapeutic strategies. We explore the future of BC treatments by optimizing CQDs-based nanomaterials and integrating them into drug delivery, active tumor targeting, photothermal therapy (PTT), photodynamic therapy (PDT), and bioimaging and biosensing applications. Furthermore, we highlight the recent advancements in the synthesis and biofunctionalization of CQDs. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive overview of CQDs as theranostics nanoparticle systems, aimed at enhancing both cancer diagnosis and therapeutic efficacy. This review also offers the scientific community an updated perspective on designing and expanding the advanced theranostics applications of CQDs in the treatment of BC.