Porphyrin‐Based Carbon Dots: Navigating the Nanoscale Frontier of Precision Biomedicine

As natural aromatic macrocyclic compounds with an 18‐π electron system, porphyrins exhibit key values in multiple fields such as biosensing, imaging, and photothermal/photodynamic therapy due to their unique photophysical properties and chemical tunability. Their integration with low‐toxicity carbon dots (CDs) with tunable optical and physicochemical properties has opened diverse innovative pathways for interdisciplinary nanotechnology research. This review presents a critical analysis of porphyrin‐based CDs (p‐CDs), highlighting their structural versatility and transformative applications in nanomedicine. By integrating porphyrin's photophysical prowess with CDs' biocompatibility, these hybrid materials enable breakthroughs in near‐infrared bioimaging, enzymatic‐optical dual sensing, and synergistic phototherapies. Synthetic strategies, including covalent π‐conjugation, natural precursor carbonization, and metal‐nanozyme engineering, are discussed to underscore their structure–activity relationships. In the landscape of biomedicine, p‐CDs have emerged as a revolutionary tool, facilitating early disease detection, precise molecular diagnosis, and targeted therapeutic interventions, thereby reshaping the paradigms of clinical practice and patient care. However, challenges remain in large‐scale production and biocompatibility assessment. Future research should prioritize biomimetic design and multimodal integration to realize the full potential of p‐CDs in precision medicine.