title: Bioconjugated quantum dots for multiplexed and quantitative immunohistochemistry.
abstract: Bioconjugated quantum dots (QDs) provide a new class of biological labels for evaluating biomolecular signatures (biomarkers) on intact cells and tissue specimens. In particular, the use of multicolor QD probes in immunohistochemistry is considered one of the most important and clinically relevant applications. At present, however, clinical applications of QD-based immunohistochemistry have achieved only limited success. A major bottleneck is the lack of robust protocols to define the key parameters and steps. Here, we describe our recent experience, preliminary results and detailed protocols for QD-antibody conjugation, tissue specimen preparation, multicolor QD staining, image processing and biomarker quantification. The results demonstrate that bioconjugated QDs can be used for multiplexed profiling of molecular biomarkers, and ultimately for correlation with disease progression and response to therapy. In general, QD bioconjugation is completed within 1 day, and multiplexed molecular profiling takes 1-3 days depending on the number of biomarkers and QD probes used.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology, 101 Woodruff Circle Suite 1001, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.forename: Qaiser
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chaudry
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Koon Yin
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.forename: Haiyen E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Zhau
authors.forename: Leland W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Petros
authors.forename: Ruth M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: O'Regan
authors.forename: Maksym V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Yezhelyev
authors.forename: Jonathan W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Simons
authors.forename: May D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Shuming
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nie
mesh_terms: D000906:Antibodies / Q000378:metabolism; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D045663:Quantum Dots; D046509:Tissue Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D015415:Biomarkers