Abstract
Skin care regimens have been prevalent in many cultures since ancient times, from aesthetic to wound healing purposes. Through evolution, humans have discovered and developed innovative technologies to assist with the human affinity to their outside appearance. Several applications are possible for cosmetics and personal care products due to the wide range of technologies available. The use of nanotechnology in the beauty industry has been significant and continues to expand as time passes. There is great interest in carbon dots, a recent nanomaterial with several potential applications. Low production costs, optical properties, and biocompatibility properties make carbon dots an attractive candidate for drug delivery, bioimaging, sensing, medical, and environmental applications. Limited research is available regarding carbon dots in skin care; however, there are several potential uses for carbon dots in the beauty industry. One of the possible uses for carbon dots in skin care is as a drug nanocarrier. This study synthesized the conjugation of black carbon dots and 5-aminolevulinic acid to potentially assist in rosacea treatment via photodynamic therapy (PDT). The conjugation was confirmed by UV-Visible, fluorescence, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). Further research must be conducted to determine the new conjugate size and cytotoxicity. Lastly, porcine skin should be obtained to investigate the permeation of this conjugation and how it will respond to PDT. Although little research has been conducted on carbon dots in the beauty industry, this study will provide additional insight into how they can be valuable ingredients in the skin care industry.