# Emerging Biomedical Applications of Carbon Dot and Polymer Composite Materials
## 4 Emerging Applications of Carbon Dots and Their Composite Materials
### Agricultural System  
CDs have also benefitted the agricultural industry by improving both the pre-harvest (growth, productivity, and disease resistance) and post-harvest (food preservation and safety) processes [93]. The role of CDs in the pre-harvest process refers to the ability of CDs to function as nano-bio-fertilizers by enhancing sunlight-energy conversion by upregulating photosynthetic genes such as PsbP and PsiK [94]. CDs have been reported to potentiate growth regulators, elevate cellulose and protein content, and improve germina  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**CD/Polymer Composites** & **Biomedical Application** & **References** \\ \hline CD/poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) & Thermo-responsive drug delivery and bioimaging & [70; 71] \\ CD/polyethylenimine (PEI) & Drug delivery with bioimaging & [72] \\ CD/PEI & Gene delivery and bioimaging & [73] \\ CD/gold nanoparticle and PEI & pDNA delivery and bioimaging & [74] \\ CD/Chitosan & Hydrogel-based 5-fluorouracil drug delivery & [75] \\ CD/deoxyribonucle acid (DNA) & Hydrogel-based doxorubicin drug delivery & [76] \\ CD/polyacrylamideamide (PAM) & Fluorescence hydrogel with excellent & [77; 78] \\ CD/poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-acrylamide-vinylphenylboronic acid) & Hydrogel based glucose sensing and measurement & [79] \\ CD/PEG and chitosan & pH sensitive fluorescence biosensing system & [80] \\ CD/polyamidoamine and gold nanocrystal & Immune-sensing of alpha-fetoprotein biosensor & [81] \\ CD/chitosan & Carbon electrode (biosensor) for selective & [82] \\  & determination of dopamine & \\ CD/DNA & Nanobiohybrid (biosensor) for fluorimetric & [83] \\ CD/polyurethane & Bone tissue engineering & [84] \\ CD/poly(\(\epsilon\)-caprolactone) & Biomineralization for bone cells growth & [85; 86] \\ CD/starch & Tissue scaffold for tissue engineering & [87] \\ CD/PLA and PCL electrospun fibers & Osteo-bioactivity for bone cells growth & [88] \\ CD/PEI and folic acid & Photothermal therapy & [89] \\ CD/PEG & Photothermal therapy and & [90] \\ CD/PEI and 4, 4\({}^{\prime}\), 4\({}^{\prime\prime}\), 4\({}^{\prime\prime\prime}\)-(porphine-5, 10, 15, 20-tetrayl) & doxorubicin drug delivery & [91] \\  & tetrakis (benzoic acid) (TCPP) & Photodynamic therapy & [92] \\ CD/pyrophehorbide-a (PPa) & Photodynamic therapy & [92] \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 1: Representative biomedical applications of carbon dot/polymer composites.  
tion rates [95]. Considering post-harvest, CDs have bacterial inhibitory properties. [PERSON] et al. found that stored cucumbers treated with CDs fabricated from kelp demonstrated a substantially lower load of _Staphylococcus aureus_ and _Escherichia coli_[96]. It was also found that covering mango fruits with CDs and chitosan reduced water loss and sugar acid conversion, thereby protecting mango quality throughout storage [97]. Figure 3 presents the benefits of CDs in agricultural systems. Hence, establishing a program for the large-scale usage of CDs in agricultural fertilizers and materials for coating agricultural products, as well as examining their toxicity in the food chain (effects on soil, plants, animals, and humans), would be of considerable interest in future studies. CDs have also been used for genetic therapy in plants. [PERSON] and colleagues utilized the solvothermal method to synthesize CDs from polyethyleneimine. CD/siRNA could be successfully delivered into the tomato with gene silencing in the _Nicotiana benthamiana_ 16C line [98].