title: A straightforward route to the synthesis of a surface-enhanced Raman scattering probe for targeting transferrin receptor-overexpressed cells.
abstract: A tumor cell targeting surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) probe has been successfully synthesized by using p-mercaptobenzoic acid (pMBA) as both the SERS reporter and the conjugation agent for attaching transferrin molecules, which shows experimentally the targeting ability for transferrin receptor-overexpressed HeLa cells and exhibits strong SERS signals when being incubated inside cells. To prove that the uptake of such a SERS probe is through a Tf-receptor-mediated endocytosis process, two control experiments: (1) HeLa cells being incubated with the probe at 4 degrees C and (2) HeLa cells being pre-blocked with free transferrin at 37 degrees C, were employed. The difference of SERS intensity between the transferrin-overexpressed HeLa cells and transferrin-pre-blocked HeLa cells indicates that the probe has the potential to selectively target tumor cells.
authors.affiliation: Advanced Photonics Center, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Zhuyuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xuebin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Chunyuan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Ruohu
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yiping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cui
mesh_terms: D002470:Cell Survival; D004705:Endocytosis; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000648:ultrastructure; D015335:Molecular Probes / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D011990:Receptors, Transferrin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012834:Silver / Q000378:metabolism; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman / Q000379:methods*; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D013499:Surface Properties; D014168:Transferrin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015335:Molecular Probes; D011990:Receptors, Transferrin; D014168:Transferrin; D012834:Silver