Imaging Cancer Cells Expressing the Folate Receptor with Carbon Dots Produced from Folic Acid
Imaging Cancer Cells Expressing the Folate Receptor with Carbon Dots Produced from Folic Acid
复制标题
DOI：
10.1002/cbic.201500694
复制
发表时间：
2016-04-01
期刊：
影响因子：
3.2
通讯作者：
Jelinek, Raz
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Bhunia, Susanta Kumar;Maity, Amit Ranjan;Jelinek, Raz
开发新的体外和体外癌细胞成像工具对于推进癌症研究、阐明药物对癌细胞的作用以及研究细胞过程具有重要意义。我们发现，从叶酸合成的荧光碳点(C-点)可以作为一种有效的载体，用于对癌细胞表面表达叶酸受体的图像进行成像。以叶酸为碳源，通过简单的一步过程合成的C-DOTS，对显示叶酸受体的癌细胞具有选择性，使此类细胞在荧光显微镜成像中很容易区分。生物物理测量和竞争实验都证实了叶酸受体表达细胞对C-dots的特异性靶向和增强摄取。叶酸衍生的C-点不具有细胞毒性，它们在生物成像应用中的应用有助于癌细胞的生物学研究、激动剂/拮抗剂的鉴定和癌症诊断。
Development of new imaging tools for cancer cells in vitro and in vitro is important for advancing cancer research, elucidating drug effects upon cancer cells, and studying cellular processes. We showed that fluorescent carbon dots (C-dots) synthesized from folic acid can serve as an effective vehicle for imaging cancer cells expressing the folate receptor on their surface. The C-dots, synthesized through a simple one-step process from folic acid as the carbon source, exhibited selectivity towards cancer cells displaying the folate receptor, making such cells easily distinguishable in fluorescence microscopy imaging. Biophysical measurements and competition experiments both confirmed the specific targeting and enhanced uptake of C-dots by the folate receptor-expressing cells. The folic acid-derived C-dots were not cytotoxic, and their use in bioimaging applications could aid biological studies of cancer cells, identification of agonists/antagonists, and cancer diagnostics.