{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,23]],"date-time":"2026-02-23T15:03:40Z","timestamp":1771859020114,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,23]],"date-time":"2026-02-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1771804800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100012226","name":"Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2024-JYB-JBZD-0400"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024-JYB-JBZD-0400"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100012226","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100012226","name":"Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2024-JYB-JBZD-023"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024-JYB-JBZD-023"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100012226","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100012226","name":"Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2024-JYB-JBZD-045"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024-JYB-JBZD-045"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100012226","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100012226","name":"Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2025-XJ-KYQD-002"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025-XJ-KYQD-002"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100012226","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The Acronicta major larva is a toxic agricultural pest that poses severe ecological management challenges. This study presents a sustainable strategy to valorize this hazardous biological waste into functional nanotherapeutics for insomnia by leveraging its unique intrinsic chemical composition. Carbon dots derived from Acronicta major larva (AM-CDs) were synthesized via one-step pyrolysis, which facilitated the natural molecular pre-assembly of N,S-codoping. Their physicochemical properties and cytotoxicity were evaluated using a series of characterizations and the CCK-8 assay. The sedative and hypnotic effects were assessed in mice with PCPA-induced insomnia through hot plate, Open Field and pentobarbital-induced sleep tests, and their potential mechanism was explored via neurotransmitter detection. The thermal process effectively eliminated intrinsic toxicity while retaining bioactivity via in situ heteroatom doping. AM-CDs exhibited favorable biocompatibility and significant sedative\u2013hypnotic activity, reducing anxiety-related agitation without motor impairment. Mechanistically, AM-CDs effectively restored the GABA\/5-HT\/glutamate axis. Unlike direct central receptor binding, our findings suggest that this therapeutic effect is likely mediated through a systemic or peripheral regulatory pathway. This study demonstrates the conversion of toxic pests into safe and intrinsically bioactive nanomaterials, providing a dual solution for ecological pest management and novel neuroactive agent development, and validating the \u201cWaste-to-Wealth\u201d concept in biomedicine.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules31040752","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,23]],"date-time":"2026-02-23T14:05:11Z","timestamp":1771855511000},"page":"752","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["One-Step Fabrication of N,S-Codoped Carbon Dots from Acronicta major Larva: Structural Characterization and Sedative\u2013Hypnotic Mechanisms"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"31","author":[{"given":"Kai","family":"Cheng","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Xinrong","family":"Tian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-1103-823X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jinyu","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ertong","family":"Dai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ruiyan","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Minlong","family":"Xia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Bilin","family":"Jin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Siqi","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Zixuan","family":"Lu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yue","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Life Sciences, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1382-7985","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hui","family":"Kong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Huihua","family":"Qu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Scientific Experiment, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yan","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Early, R., Bradley, B.A., Dukes, J.S., Lawler, J.J., Olden, J.D., Blumenthal, D.M., Gonzalez, P., Grosholz, E.D., Iba\u00f1ez, I., and Miller, L.P. 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