Carbon dots and curcumin-loaded CD44-Targeted liposomes for imaging and tracking cancer chemotherapy: A multi-purpose tool for theranostics

Growing needs in biomedical applications have driven the development of multifunctional nanoparticles towards theranostically-engineered multimodal platforms. Many strategies for point-effective cellular uptake of theranostics have been described. In this report, multifunctional nanostructures were designed and synthesized as a novel theranostic platform. Liposomes were loaded with curcumin as a therapeutic agent and carbon dots (CDs) as a contrast molecule. Anti-CD44 antibodies were bioconjugated on the liposomal surface to obtain an active targeting nanocarrier. After synthesis, the relative characterization of the vesicles was performed using DLS and TEM techniques. In vitro analysis was conducted to investigate the multimodal properties of the theranostic via testing its toxicity, cell uptake, bioimaging, and chemo/radiotherapy applications on two different cell lines. 3D holographic microscopy was employed to track the treatment effects during experimentation. Results indicated that these particles are efficient tools for clinical applications due to their fluorescent characteristic and increased bioperformance.