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Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is among the leading causes of mortality in the world. The detection of HCC in its early stage is the key for early treatment and thus the improvement of the chances of survival. Among the various methods of HCC screening, assays based on the detection of biomarker that is specific to HCC such as alpha- l -fucosidase (AFU) have been regarded as the most prominent methods. In this regards, a new assay for the detection of AFU to screen HCC was developed. This assay was based on the energy transfer between carbon dots (C-dots) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), the concentration of AFU could be monitored by the degree of C-dots fluorescence quenching due to the energy transfer. With this assay, a limit of detection of 3.4 nM (well below the diagnostic cutoff point of 80 nM), and a broad linear range of detection from 11.3 to 200 nM were achieved. We also demonstrate the determination of the concentration of AFU in human blood serum. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Energy transfer between carbon dots and AuNPs was used to design assay for the detection of alpha- l -fucosidase. • A sandwich assay was designed by combining polyclonal antibody coated AuNPs with monoclonal antibody attached to carbon dots. • A limit of detection of 3.4 nM and linear range from 11.3 to 200 nM were achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dots, a recent member of the renowned carbon-based nanomaterials family, have attracted significant interest from various fields. The extraordinary properties, including excellent photoluminescence, high biocompatibility, and tunable surface functionalities as well as the abundant and inexpensive nature, have led to remarkable bioapplications in bioimaging, drug delivery, and theranostics development. In this article, studies on the interaction of C-dots with biomacromolecules are reviewed first, and recent developments of C-dots for target-specific bioimaging, drug delivery as well as theranostics development are highlighted and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]