Hyaluronic acid functionalized nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots for targeted specific bioimaging

作者：Zhang, M.; Fang, Z.; Zhao, X.; Niu, Y.; Lou, J.; Zhao, L.; Wu, Y.; Zou, S.; Du, F.^*; Shao, Q.^*

来源：RSC Advances, 2016, 6(107): 104979-104984.

DOI：10.1039/c6ra22210b

• IRON-OXIDE NANOPARTICLES
• IN-VIVO
• BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS
• FACILE
• PROBES
• GREEN
• CELLS

Carbon quantum dots (CQDs), a new inorganic quasi-zero dimensional carbon nanomaterial, are extensively applied in biomedical fields. However, the lack of specific cell targeting ligands on the surface has consistently been a critical problem to be overcome in application of CQD technology. In this study, hyaluronic acid-functionalized CQDs (HA-CQDs) were synthesized via hydrothermal carbonization for tumor-targeted bioimaging. The synthesized HA-CQDs possessed highly hydrophilic surfaces, uniform size distribution (approximately 2.3 nm) and heterogeneous multi-layered crystal structures. Due to the superior fluorescence property of HA-CQDs, the labeled cells could be observed and detected using a confocal microscope and flow cytometry. By virtue of the functional HA ligands, HA-CQDs exhibited excellent colloidal stability and favorable biocompatibility, and readily entered into the cytoplasm of CD44-overexpression cancer cells. HA competitive binding assay demonstrated that the internalization process was regulated by CD44 (HA receptor)-mediated endocytosis. These results validated that the as-prepared HA-CQDs could particularly serve as novel cell-specific fluorescent probes for CD44 high expression in tumor-targeted imaging and labelling.

• 出版日期2016
• 单位江苏大学