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Biomass-derived nanocarbons (BNCs) have attracted significant research interests due to their promising economic and environmental benefits. Following their extensive uses in physical and chemical research domains, BNCs are now growing in biological applications. However, their practical biological applications are still in their infancy, requiring critical evaluations and strategic directions, which are provided in this review. The carbonization of biomass sources and major types of BNCs are introduced, encompassing carbon nanodots, nanofibres, nanotubes, and graphenes. Next, essential biological uses of BNCs, antibacterial/antibiofilm materials (nanofibres and nanodots) and bioimaging agents (predominantly nanodots), are summarized. Furthermore, the future potential of BNCs, for designing wound dressing/healing materials, water and air disinfection platforms, and microbial electrochemical systems, is discussed. We reach the conclusion that a crucial challenge is the structural control of BNCs. Furthermore, a key knowledge gap for realizing practical biological applications is the lack of systematic comparisons of BNCs with nanocarbons of synthetic origin in the current literature. Although we did not attempt to perform an exhaustive literature survey, the evaluation of the existing results indicates that BNCs are promising as easily accessible materials for various biomedically and environmentally relevant applications.

Micelles have been employed to encapsulate the supramolecular assembly of quantum dots with palladium(II) porphyrins for the quantification of O₂ levels in aqueous media and in vivo. Förster resonance energy transfer from the quantum dot (QD) to the palladium porphyrin provides a means for signal transduction under both one- and two-photon excitation. The palladium porphyrins are sensitive to O₂ concentrations in the range of 0–160 Torr. The micelle-encapsulated QD-porphyrin assemblies have been employed for in vivo multiphoton imaging and lifetime-based oxygen measurements in mice with chronic dorsal skinfold chambers or cranial windows. Our results establish the utility of the QD-micelle approach for in vivo biological sensing applications., National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (R01- CA126642), International Society for Neurochemistry (W911NF-07-D-0004), United States. Dept. of Energy. Office of Basic Energy Sciences (DE-SC0009758)

SHG intensity combined with the F/B ratio provides unique measures of the local density of ordered collagen, as well as the characteristic length scale of this ordering. In order to fully implement SHG F/B ratio measurements to understand the dynamic ordering of collagen in living tumors, we must be able to measure this property in vivo, in intact tissue, which stops us from using a forwards detector. In this annual report, we described ongoing work developing optical methods to quantify the breast tumor collagen SHG F/B scattering ratio in intact tumors in vivo, i.e. without a forwards detector. In future studies this information will be used to determine how manipulation of gene expression by tumor associated macrophages affects collagen ordering, and to determine if SHG measurement of collagen ordering could be used as a breast tumor margin detector., The original document contains color images.

SHG intensity combined with the F/B ratio provides unique measures of the local density of ordered collagen, as well as the characteristic length scale of this ordering. In order to fully implement F/B ratio measurements to understand the dynamic ordering of collagen in living tumors, we must be able to measure this property in vivo, in intact tissue, which stops us from using a forwards detector. In this annual report, we described ongoing work developing optical methods to quantify the breast tumor collagen SHG F/B scattering ratio in intact tumors in vivo, i.e. without a forwards detector. In future studies this information will be used to determine how manipulation of gene expression by tumor associated macrophages affects collagen ordering, and to determine if SHG measurement of collagen ordering provides a clinically useful measure of metastatic ability., The original document contains color images.

SHG intensity combined with the F/B ratio provides unique measures of the local density of ordered collagen, as well as the characteristic length scale of this ordering. In order to fully implement F/B ratio measurements to understand the dynamic ordering of collagen in living tumors, we must be able to measure this property in vivo, in intact tissue, which stops us from using a forwards detector. In this annual report, we described ongoing work developing optical methods to quantify the breast tumor collagen SHG F/B scattering ratio in intact tumors in vivo, i.e. without a forwards detector. In future studies this information will be used to determine how manipulation of gene expression by tumor associated macrophages affects collagen ordering, and to determine if SHG measurement of collagen ordering provides a clinically useful measure of metastatic ability., The original document contains color images.