Pollen Typhae Carbonisata (PTC) is a type of calcined herb drug that has been used as a hemostatic medicine to promote hemostasis for thousands of years. In this study, we discovered and separated novel water-soluble carbon quantum dots (CQDs, named PTC-CQDs) from aqueous extracts of PTC. These PTC-CDs were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution TEM, as well as Fourier transform infrared, ultraviolet–visible, and fluorescence spectroscopy. Then, we assessed the anti-hemorrhagic effects and related hemostatic mechanisms of the obtained PTC-CQDs. The PTC-CQDs separated from PTC are spherical, monodisperse, and have a narrow size distribution between 2 and 8 nm. In the pharmacology experiment, remarkable anti-hemorrhage effects of PTC-CQDs were revealed. Additionally, the rats showed a profound decrease in activated partial thromboplastin time and increase in fibrinogen and PLT after PTC-CQDs treatment. These results indicated the explicit hemostasis effect of PTC-CQDs, which not only provided a new idea for the material research of PTC, but have also provided new insights into potential biomedical and healthcare applications of CQDs in the field of haemorrhage control and laid a solid foundation for future drug discovery.

Background: Carbon dots (CDs) with multifaceted advantages have provided hope for development brand-new nanodrug for treating thorny diseases. This study developed a green and simple calcination method to prepare novel CDs as promising drug for psoriasis treatment. The as-prepared CDs using Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex (PCC) as sole precursor were characterized by a series of methods, mainly including electron microscopy, optical technology and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Results: Results displayed that fluorescence (Quantum yield = 5.63%) and nontoxic PCC-based CDs (PCC-CDs) with abundant chemical groups exhibited solubility and tiny sizes at average of (1.93 ± 0.53) nm, which may be beneficial for its inherent biological activity. Moreover, by using the typical imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis-like skin mouse model, we firstly demonstrated the pronounced anti-psoriasis activity of as-prepared PCC-CDs on ameliorating the appearance, psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) scores as well as histopathological morphology of both back skin tissues and right ears in IMQ-induced mouse. Further potential mechanisms behind the anti-psoriasis activities may be related to suppress M1 polarization and relatively promote M2 polarization of macrophage both in vitro and in vivo. Conclusion: These results suggested that PCC-CDs have potential to be an anti-psoriasis candidate for clinical applications to treat psoriasis, which not only provided an evidence for further broadening the biological application of CDs, but also provided a potential hope for application nanodrugs to treat thorny diseases. Graphic

Aim: To explore the effects of Radix Sophorae Flavescentis carbonisata-based carbon dots (RSFC-CDs) on an ethanol-induced acute gastric ulcer rat model. Methods: The structure, optical properties, functional groups and elemental composition of RSFC-CDs synthesized by one-step pyrolysis were characterized. The gastric protective effects of RSFC-CDs were evaluated and confirmed by applying a rat model of ethanol-induced acute gastric ulcers. The underlying mechanisms were investigated through the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signalling pathway and oxidative stress. Results: RSFC-CDs with a diameter ranging from 2– 3 nm mainly showed gastric protective effects by reducing the levels of NF-κB, tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) to inhibit ethanol-induced inflammation and oxidative stress. Conclusion: RSFC-CDs have anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects, making them promising for application in ethanol-induced gastric injury.

Mulberry silkworm cocoon (MSC) carbonisata has been used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases for hundreds of years; however, after years of research efforts, little information is available on its anti-inflammatory components and underlying mechanism. We developed novel carbon dots (CDs) derived from MSC carbonisata (MSC-CDs), for the first time, with an average diameter of 2.26–9.35 nm and a quantum yield (QY) of 6.32%. The MSC-CDs were prepared using a modified pyrolysis method, and no further modification and external surface passivation agent was required. With abundant surface groups, MSC-CDs showed distinct solubility and bioactivity. In this study, we innovatively used three classical experimental models of inflammation to evaluate the anti-inflammatory bioactivity of MSC-CDs. The results indicated that MSC-CDs exhibited marked anti-inflammatory bioactivity which was likely mediated by inhibition of the expression of interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor-α. These results suggest that MSC-CDs possess a remarkable anti-inflammatory property, which provides evidence to support further investigation of the considerable potential and effective material basis of this traditional Chinese medicine.

Background: Cerebral infarction and cerebral hemorrhage, also known as “stroke”, is one of the leading cause of death. At present, there is no real specific medicine for stroke. Crinis Carbonisatus (named Xue-yu-tan in Chinese), produced from carbonized hair of healthy human, and has been widely applied to relieve pain and treat epilepsy, stroke and other diseases in China for thousands of years. Results: In this work, a new species of carbon dots derived from Crinis Carbonisatus (CrCi-CDs) were separated and identified. And the neuroprotective effect of carbon dots from CrCi were evaluated using the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model. Neurological deficit score and infarction volume was assessed, evans blue content of ischemic hemispheres was measured, the concentrations of inflammatory factors, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the cortex were measured, and the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain were determined. Preconditioning of CrCi-CDs significantly reduced ischemic lesion volume and blood–brain-barrier (BBB) permeability, improved neurologic deficits, decreased the level of TNF-α and IL-6 in MCAO rats, inhibited excitatory neurotransmitters aspartate (Asp) and glutamate (Glu), and increased the level of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT). The RNA-Sequencing results reveal that further potential mechanisms behind the activities may be related to the anti-inflammation effects and inhibition of neuroexcitatory toxicity. Conclusion: CrCi-CDs performs neuroprotective effect on cerebral ischemia and reperfusion injury, and the mechanisms may correlate with its anti-inflammatory action, which suggested that CrCi-CDs have potential value in clinical therapy on the acute apoplexy cases in combination with thrombolytic drugs. Graphic