Oxygen imaging by quantum dots for detection of intra-tumor hypoxia

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Hypoxic cells in solid tumor define the malignancy. Thus, imaging of hypoxic cells in solid tumor is of significant importance. Here, we attempted to use nanometer-scale semiconductor particles called quantum dots (QDs) as an optical probe for hypoxic cells. Fluorescence intensity of the newly synthesized L-cysteine capped QD, loaded into cultured cells, changed according to the intracellular oxygen concentration. However, the fluorescence intensity was lower than expected from the in vitro study. We also found significant photo bleaching of the QD fluorescence. These appear to hinder the immediate use of the QD as a nanoscale optical oxygen probe.