1. Lai C, Lin S, Huang X, Jin Y. Synthesis and properties of carbon quantum dots and their research progress in cancer treatment. Dyes Pigm. 2021;196:109766. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dyepig.2021.109766
2. Molaei MJ. A review on nanostructured carbon quantum dots and their applications in biotechnology, sensors, and chemiluminescence. Talanta 2019;196:456-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2018.12.042
3. Baker SN, Baker GA. Luminescent carbon nanodots: emergent nanolights. Angew Chem Int Ed. 2010;49(38):6726-44. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.200906623
4. Li H, Kang Z, Liu Y, Lee S-T. Carbon nanodots: synthesis, properties and applications. J Mater Chem. 2012;22(46):24230-53. https://doi.org/10.1039/C2JM34690G
5. Xu X, Ray R, Gu Y, Ploehn HJ, Gearheart L, Raker K, et al. Electrophoretic analysis and purification of fluorescent single-walled carbon nanotube fragments. J Am Chem Soc. 2004;126(40):12736-7. https://doi.org/10.1021/ja040082h
6. Wang Y, Hu A. Carbon quantum dots: synthesis, properties and applications. J Mater Chem C 2014;2(34):6921-39. https://doi.org/10.1039/C4TC00988F
7. Lim SY, Shen W, Gao Z. Carbon quantum dots and their applications. Chem Soc Rev. 2014;44(1):362-81. https://doi.org/10.1039/C4CS00269E
8. Ding C, Zhu A, Tian Y. Functional surface engineering of C-dots for fluorescent biosensing and in vivo bioimaging. Acc Chem Res. 2014;47(1):20-30. https://doi.org/10.1021/ar400023s
9. Hola K, Zhang Y, Wang Y, Giannelis EP, Zboril R, Rogach AL. Carbon dots—Emerging light emitters for bioimaging, cancer therapy and optoelectronics. Nano Today 2014;9(5):590-603. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nantod.2014.09.004
10. Namdari P, Negahdari B, Eatemadi A. Synthesis, properties and biomedical applications of carbon-based quantum dots: an updated review. Biomed Pharmacother. 2017;87:209-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2016.12.108
11. Liu Y, Wang H, Qu S. Review on near-infrared absorbing/emissive carbon dots: from preparation to multi-functional application. Chin Chem Lett. 2025;36(5):110618. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cclet.2024.110618
12. Nammahachak N, Aup-Ngoen KK, Asanithi P, Horpratum M, Chuangchote S, Ratanaphan S, et al. Hydrothermal synthesis of carbon quantum dots with size tunability via heterogeneous nucleation. RSC Adv. 2022;12(49):31729-33. https://doi.org/10.1039/d2ra05989d
13. Liu J, Li R, Yang B. Carbon dots: a new type of carbon-based nanomaterial with wide applications. ACS Cent Sci. 2020;6(12):2179. https://doi.org/10.1021/acscentsci.0c01306
14. Xu Q, Cai W, Zhang M, Su R, Ye Y, Li Y, et al. Photoluminescence mechanism and applications of Zn-doped carbon dots. RSC Adv. 2018;8(31):17254-62. https://doi.org/10.1039/c8ra02756k
15. Zhou Y, Mintz KJ, Sharma SK, Leblanc RM. Carbon dots: diverse preparation, application, and perspective in surface chemistry. Langmuir 2019;35(28):9115-32. https://doi.org/10.1039/C9NR05854A
16. De B, Karak N. Recent progress in carbon dot–metal based nanohybrids for photochemical and electrochemical applications. J Mater Chem A 2017;5(5):1826-59. https://doi.org/10.1039/c6TA10220D
17. Mintz KJ, Zhou Y, Leblanc RM. Recent development of carbon quantum dots regarding their optical properties, photoluminescence mechanism, and core structure. Nanoscale 2019;11(11):4634-52. https://doi.org/10.1039/C9NR05854A
18. Yan F, Jiang Y, Sun X, Bai Z, Zhang Y, Zhou X. Surface modification and chemical functionalization of carbon dots: a review. Microchim Acta 2018;185(9):424. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-018-2953-9
19. Papaioannou N, Titirici M-M, Sapelkin A. Investigating the effect of reaction time on carbon dot formation, structure, and optical properties. ACS omega 2019;4(26):21658. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.9b01798
20. Quaid T, Ghalandari V, Reza T. Effect of synthesis process, synthesis temperature, and reaction time on chemical, morphological, and quantum properties of carbon dots derived from loblolly pine. Biomass 2022;2(4):250-63. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomass2040017
21. Mohammed SJ, Omer KM, Hawaiz FE. Deep insights to explain the mechanism of carbon dot formation at various reaction times using the hydrothermal technique: FT-IR, 13C-NMR, 1H-NMR, and UV-visible spectroscopic approaches. RSC Adv. 2023;13(21):14340-9. https://doi.org/10.1039/D3RA01646C
22. Andoshe DM, Barsisa G, Tsegaye D, Seboka C, Dibaba ST, Gemta AB. Effect of hydrothermal reaction temperature on fluorescent properties of carbon quantum dots synthesized from lemon juice for adsorption applications. J Nanomater. 2023;2023:1701496. https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/1701496
23. Zuo G, Hu J, Wang Y, Xie A, Dong W. Dramatic red fluorescence enhancement and emission red shift of carbon dots following Zn/ZnO decoration. Luminescence 2019;34(7):759-66. https://doi.org/10.1002/bio.3671
24. Zhang Y, Guo Y, Sun K, Li X, Liu X, Zhu J, et al. Mechanism of fluorescence characteristics and application of zinc-doped carbon dots synthesized by using zinc citrate complexes as precursors. C J Carbon Res. 2025;11(3):48. https://doi.org/10.3390/c11030048
25. He H, Yang Y, Li J, Lai X, Chen X, Wang L, et al. Enhanced fluorescence of Zn-doped carbon quantum dots using zinc citrate chelate as precursor for fluorescent sensor applications. Mater Sci Eng B 2021;264:114955. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mseb.2020.114955
26. Alikhani M, Khoshkalam E, Sadeghi J, Bulgariu L, Eshghi H. Efficient phosphate removal utilizing N, Zn-doped carbon dots as an innovative nanoadsorbent. RSC advances. 2024;14(34):24534-47. https://doi.org/10.1039/d4ra02428a
27. Lin L, Luo Y, Tsai P, Wang J, Chen X. Metal ions doped carbon quantum dots: synthesis, physicochemical properties, and their applications. TrAC Trends Anal Chem. 2018;103:87-101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trac.2018.03.015
28. Zhou H, Ren Y, Li Z, He W, Li Z. Selective detection of Fe3+ by nitrogen–sulfur-doped carbon dots using thiourea and citric acid. Coatings 2022;12(8):1042. https://doi.org/10.3390/cotings12081042
29. Zhao WB, Liu KK, Wang Y, Li FK, Guo R, Song SY, et al. Antibacterial carbon dots: mechanisms, design, and applications. Adv Healthcare Mater. 2023;12(23):2300324. https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.202300324
30. Jana P, Dev A. Carbon quantum dots: a promising nanocarrier for bioimaging and drug delivery in cancer. Mater Today Commun. 2022;32:104068. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtcomm.2022.104068
31. Naik K, Chaudhary S, Ye L, Parmar AS. A Strategic Review on carbon quantum dots for cancer-diagnostics and treatment. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2022;10:882100. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2022882100
32. Cui L, Ren X, Sun M, Liu H, Xia L. Carbon dots: synthesis, properties and applications. Nanomaterials 2021;11(12):3419. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11123419
33. Das BC, Yadav P, Das S, He JC. A novel procedure for the synthesis of borylated quinolines and its application in the development of potential boron-based homeodomain interacting protein kinase 2 (HIPK2) inhibitors. RSC Adv. 2022;12(37):24187-91. https://doi.org/10.1039/d2ra05063c
34. Brouwer AM. Standards for photoluminescence quantum yield measurements in solution (IUPAC Technical Report). Pure Appl Chem. 2011;83(12):2213-28. https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REP-10-09-31
35. Resch-Genger U, Rurack K. Determination of the photoluminescence quantum yield of dilute dye solutions (IUPAC Technical Report). Pure Appl Chem. 2013;85(10):2005. https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REP-1203-03
36. Dimitriev O, Kysil D, Zaderko A, Isaieva O, Vasin A, Piryatinski Y, et al. Photoluminescence quantum yield of carbon dots: emission due to multiple centers versus excitonic emission. Nanoscale Adv. 2024;6(8):2185-97. https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NA00033A
37. Würth C, Grabolle M, Pauli J, Spieles M, Resch-Genger U. Relative and absolute determination of fluorescence quantum yields of transparent samples. Nat Protoc. 2013;8(8):1535-50. https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2013.087
38. Fang Z, Li X, Zhang Xa, Yan W, Liu J, Zhao L. Inner filter effect mediated fluorescent sensing of rutin based on amino acid-derived novel nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon dots. Dyes Pigm. 2025;236:112684. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dyepig.2025.112684
39. Kubista M, Sjöback R, Eriksson S, Albinsson B. Experimental correction for the inner-filter effect in fluorescence spectra. Analyst 1994;119(3):417-9. https://doi.org/10.1039/AN9941900417
40. Chen Z, Hanna SL, Redfern LR, Alezi D, Islamoglu T, Farha OK. Reticular chemistry in the rational synthesis of functional zirconium cluster-based MOFs. Coord Chem Rev. 2019;386:32-49 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccr.2019.01.017
41. Zheng XT, Ananthanarayanan A, Luo KQ, Chen P. glowing graphene quantum dots and carbon dots: properties, syntheses, and biological applications. small 2015;11(14):1620-36. https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.201402648
42. Jiang K, Sun S, Zhang L, Lu Y, Wu A, Cai C, et al. Red, green, and blue luminescence by carbon dots: full‐color emission tuning and multicolor cellular imaging. Angew Chem. 2015;127(18):5450-3. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201501193