碳点（carbon dots，CDs）是一种粒径小于10 nm的新型荧光纳米粒子，中药衍生碳点（carbon dots derived from traditional Chinese medicine，TCM-CDs）是以中药为前驱体制备而成的CDs。与传统CDs相比，TCM-CDs以天然中药为前驱体，资源丰富，符合绿色化学原则；中药中含有丰富的活性成分赋予了TCM-CDs独特的药理活性和生物相容性，有助于药物递送和靶向治疗，进而可能发挥更大的药用价值。TCM-CDs的制备过程成本低廉，适合大规模应用，进一步拓展了其在生物医学领域的潜在价值。由此，近年来TCM-CDs得到了广泛的关注和研究。通过详细介绍TCM-CDs的来源、制备方法及每种制备方法的优缺点，系统总结TCM-CDs的结构特征、性质与表征方法，全面综述TCM-CDs在药理活性及其机制的最新研究进展，并对TCM-CDs当前研究的局限性和未来发展方向进行了展望，以期推动TCM-CDs在传统中医药领域的研究应用。

Carbon dots (CDs) are novel fluorescent nanoparticles with a particle size of less than 10 nm. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)-derived carbon dots (TCM-CDs) are CDs synthesized using TCM as the precursor. Compared to conventional CDs, TCM-CDs utilize natural TCM resources, which are abundant and align with the principles of green chemistry. The rich active components in TCM endow TCM-CDs with unique pharmacological activities and enhanced biocompatibility, which can facilitate drug delivery and targeted therapy, thus potentially enhancing their medicinal value. Moreover, TCM-CDs are cost-effective to prepare, making them suitable for large-scale applications, which further expands their potential value in the biomedical field. Consequently, TCM-CDs have garnered widespread attention and interest in recent years. This review provides a detailed introduction to the sources and preparation methods of TCM-CDs, along with a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of each preparation method. It systematically summarizes the structural features, properties, and characterization techniques of TCM-CDs, and comprehensively reviews the latest research progress on the pharmacological activities and mechanisms of TCM-CDs. The review also discusses the current limitations of TCM-CDs research and outlines future development directions, with the aim of promoting the research and application of TCM-CDs in the field of TCM.

R283.3

江西省研究生创新专项项目（YC2024-B221）；江西中医药大学校级科技创新团队发展计划（CXTD22007）