Author: Riska, S. Gea, Y. A. Lubis, S. Nurafifa, Marpongahtun

DOI: http://doi.org/10.31788/RJC.2026.1939744

Candlenut shell–derived carbon dots (CS-CDs) and nitrogen-doped carbon dots (CS-NCDs) were successfullysynthesised via the hydrothermal method, exhibiting blue fluorescence emission and successful conjugationwithamlodipine besylate (AB). Photoluminescence (PL) characterisation revealed emission peaks at 498 nmfor CS-CDsand 501 nm for CS-NCDs, with corresponding quantum yield (QY) of 25.55% and 20.08%, respectively. HR-TEMand XRD analyses confirmed that the synthesised particles were spherical, semi-crystalline, and possessed sizesbelow 10 nm. The AB@CS-NCDs conjugate exhibited a higher drug loading capacity (DLC) of 59.21%, withaslightly lower drug loading efficiency (DLE) of 98.58%, whereas CS-CDs showed DLC of 46.05%and DLEof 98.90%. Despite the marginal decrease in DLE observed for CS-NCDs and the lower DLC for CS-CDs, bothsystems maintained exceptionally high drug loading efficiencies. The significantly enhanced DLC of CS-NCDsindicates that nitrogen-containing functional groups play a dominant role in strengthening drug nanocarrier interactions. These results demonstrate that CS-CDs and CS-NCDs are capable of efficiently accommodatingABwithin a hydrophilic nanocarrier matrix, thereby suggesting a promising nanomaterial-based drug delivery system(DDS) approach to address the limited aqueous solubility of AB.

Keywords: Carbon Dots, Amlodipine Besylate, Quantum Yield, Drug Loading Efficiency, Drug Loading Capacity