Nanotechnology has gained significant interest from biomedical and analytical researchers in recent years. Carbon dots (C-dots), a new member of the carbon nanomaterial family, are spherical, nontoxic, biocompatible, and discrete particles less than 10 nm in diameter. Research interest has focused on C-dots because of their ultra-compact nanosize, favorable biocompatibility, outstanding photoluminescence, superior electron transfer ability, and versatile surface engineering properties. C-dots show significant potential for use in cellular imaging, biosensing, targeted drug delivery, and other biomedical applications. Here we discuss C-dots, in terms of their physicochemical properties, fabrication techniques, toxicity issues, surface engineering and biomedical potential in drug delivery, targeting as well as bioimaging.

近年来，纳米技术引起了生物医学和分析研究人员的极大兴趣。碳点（C-dots）是碳纳米材料家族的新成员，是球形的，无毒的，生物相容的，并且是直径小于10 nm的离散颗粒。由于C点具有超紧凑的纳米尺寸，良好的生物相容性，出色的光致发光性，优异的电子转移能力和通用的表面工程特性，因此研究兴趣集中在C点上。C点显示出在细胞成像，生物传感，靶向药物递送和其他生物医学应用中的巨大潜力。在这里，我们就碳点的物理化学性质，制造技术，毒性问题，表面工程和药物输送，靶向以及生物成像的生物医学潜力进行了讨论。