Biogenic Carbon Quantum Dots: A Green Glucuronic-Acid-Functionalized Nanosystem for pH-Responsive Dual-Drug Delivery in Glioblastoma
- 1College of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
- 2Key Laboratory for Green Processing of Chemical Engineering of Xinjiang Bingtuan, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China
- 3State Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, Center of Molecular Theranostic Technology, Center for Molecular Imaging and Translational Medicine, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
Abstract
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an incurable primary brain malignancy characterized by prominent chemoresistance and poor prognosis. Herein, we report an in vitro proof-of-concept study of a green, ligand-functionalized carbon quantum dot (CQD) for combined drug delivery with pH-responsive release in glioblastoma cells. Nitrogen-doped red-emissive N-CQDs were synthesized via a hydrothermal method using locust biomass as a renewable carbon precursor, functionalized with glucuronic acid for active tumor targeting, and loaded with piperlongumine (PL) and silibinin (SIL) drugs at an optimized mass ratio. The nanosystem was characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, TEM, XPS, and optical spectroscopy, and evaluated in vitro for drug release, cellular uptake, apoptosis, ROS levels, and caspase-3 activity. The optimized nanoplatform exhibited uniform morphology (average size 2.76 nm), strong red fluorescence (Ex490nm/Em620nm), high dual-drug loading efficiency (46.0%), and pH-responsive release behavior with rapid drug liberation in the acidic tumor microenvironment (pH 5.5) and minimal leakage at physiological pH (pH 7.4). The nanosystem demonstrated efficient cellular internalization, dual mitochondrial/nuclear targeting, and enhanced combined antitumor effect via ROS overproduction and activation of the caspase-3 pathway. This work establishes a green and multifunctional nanotherapeutic platform with promising potential for future glioblastoma-directed drug delivery applications.
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BibTeX
@article{mehdi2026biogenic,
title = {{Biogenic Carbon Quantum Dots: A Green Glucuronic-Acid-Functionalized Nanosystem for pH-Responsive Dual-Drug Delivery in Glioblastoma}},
author = {Muhammad Mehdi and Zubair Akram and Syed Faheem Askari Rizvi and Jingxin Wang and Chenlu Li and Ali Raza and Shiguo Sun},
journal = {Nanomaterials},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/nano16201295},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/16/20/1295},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Biogenic Carbon Quantum Dots: A Green Glucuronic-Acid-Functionalized Nanosystem for pH-Responsive Dual-Drug Delivery in Glioblastoma
AU - Muhammad Mehdi
AU - Zubair Akram
AU - Syed Faheem Askari Rizvi
AU - Jingxin Wang
AU - Chenlu Li
AU - Ali Raza
AU - Shiguo Sun
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Nanomaterials
DO - 10.3390/nano16201295
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/16/20/1295
AB - Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an incurable primary brain malignancy characterized by prominent chemoresistance and poor prognosis. Herein, we report an in vitro proof-of-concept study of a green, ligand-functionalized carbon quantum dot (CQD) for combined drug delivery with pH-responsive release in glioblastoma cells. Nitrogen-doped red-emissive N-CQDs were synthesized via a hydrothermal method using locust biomass as a renewable carbon precursor, functionalized with glucuronic acid for active tumor targeting, and loaded with piperlongumine (PL) and silibinin (SIL) drugs at an optimized mass ratio. The nanosystem was characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, TEM, XPS, and optical spectroscopy, and evaluated in vitro for drug release, cellular uptake, apoptosis, ROS levels, and caspase-3 activity. The optimized nanoplatform exhibited uniform morphology (average size 2.76 nm), strong red fluorescence (Ex490nm/Em620nm), high dual-drug loading efficiency (46.0%), and pH-responsive release behavior with rapid drug liberation in the acidic tumor microenvironment (pH 5.5) and minimal leakage at physiological pH (pH 7.4). The nanosystem demonstrated efficient cellular internalization, dual mitochondrial/nuclear targeting, and enhanced combined antitumor effect via ROS overproduction and activation of the caspase-3 pathway. This work establishes a green and multifunctional nanotherapeutic platform with promising potential for future glioblastoma-directed drug delivery applications.
SN - 2079-4991
ER -