Nanocarbon dots enhancing photothermal therapy for cancer: mechanisms, synergistic strategies, and frontier advances.

Cancer, a significant global public health challenge, continues to have high incidence and mortality rates. Photothermal therapy (PTT), as a novel non-invasive treatment, uses photothermal agents to convert light energy into heat energy to precisely kill cancer cells. Nanocarbon dots (CDs) have attracted increasing attention as photothermal agents for cancer therapy due to their good biocompatibility, tunable optical properties, and facile synthesis. This review summarizes the recent progress in CDs for PTT, with a focus on structure-property relationships and performance optimization. We first present the main synthesis strategies of CDs, including top-down and bottom-up approaches, and discuss how precursors, doping, and surface modification influence their photothermal conversion efficiency. The structural characteristics of various CDs reported in the literature are illustrated to highlight the correlation between composition and photothermal behavior. Subsequently, the application of CDs in PTT is reviewed, covering their use in combination with chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and other modalities. We also discuss current challenges, including long-term biosafety, standardized evaluation criteria, and clinical translation. By systematically outlining the design, synthesis, and therapeutic application of photothermal CDs, this review provides a comprehensive theoretical basis and practical guidance for the clinical application of CDs in cancer therapy.