Preparation of panchromatic carbon dots by drug function preservation strategy and its intracellular application for cancer diagnosis and therapeutics.

[Display omitted] • One-step preparation of full-color carbon dots by selecting the anticancer drug hydroxyurea as the precursor. • Rapid and targeted endocytosis were achieved by mannose-modified carbon dots. • The hydroxyurea active functional group retained in mp-CDs synergizes with mannose to yield therapeutic effects on liver cancer cells. Using hydroxyurea and o-phenylenediamine as precursors, a series of panchromatic carbon dots were synthesized by varying the kind and amounts of solvents, and the pink carbon dots (p-CDs) with a quantum yield of 46% were chosen for cellular research. After further modifying the p-CDs with mannose, mp-CDs could selectively target liver cancer cells that overexpressed the mannose receptor and easily enter the cells via endocytosis to achieve naked-eye discrimination of liver cancer cells. In addition, the residual hydroxyurea functional group on the surface of mp-CDs is in coordination with mannose, which induces targeted killing effects on liver cancer cells. This work not only suggests a strategy for making panchromatic carbon dots by altering the solvent, but it also offers a way to identify and treat liver cancer through cellular research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]