Fluorescent Egg White-Based Carbon Dots as a High-Sensitivity Iron Chelator for the Therapy of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease by Iron Overload in Zebrafish

Iron overload is the direct cause of many ferroptosis diseases, and it is essential to maintain iron homeostasis. In this paper, we report the Fe3+ chelation and therapy of the iron overload nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) by the fluorescent egg white-based carbon dots (EWCDs) obtained through the microwave-assisted pyrolysis method. As a high-sensitivity sensor, EWCDs show a high correlation between fluorescence emission and the concentration of Fe3+ (R2 = 0.993) in low concentration ranges of 0–25 μM. In vivo and in vitro, the EWCDs show characteristics of high biocompatibility and specific binding of Fe3+. As a novel type of the nano-iron-chelator, EWCDs can successfully attenuate the production of lethal reactive oxygen species. EWCDs not only alleviate the endoplasmic reticulum stress response but also regulate the NF-κB signaling pathway downstream of the Nrf2 signaling pathway. EWCDs prevent hepatocyte apoptosis, regulate fatty acid metabolism, and alleviate inflammation. Ultimately, they alleviate NAFLD induced by iron overload in zebrafish. This work may provide a new idea and method for the application of carbon dots in the field of disease detection and treatment.