title: Single-domain antibody bioconjugated near-IR quantum dots for targeted cellular imaging of pancreatic cancer.
abstract: Successful targeted imaging of BxPC3 human pancreatic cancer cells is feasible with near-IR CdTeSe/CdS quantum dots (QDs) functionalized with single-domain antibody (sdAb) 2A3. For specific targeting, sdAbs are superior to conventional antibodies, especially in terms of stability, aggregation, and production cost. The bright CdTeSe/CdS QDs were synthesized to emit in the diagnostic window of 650-900 nm with a narrow emission band. 2A3 was derived from llama and is small in size of  13 kDa, but with fully-functional recognition to the target carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 6 (CEACAM6), a possible biomarker as a therapeutic target of pancreatic cancer. For compelling imaging, optical may be the most sensible among the various imaging modalities, regarding the sensitivity and cost. This first report on sdAb-conjugated near-IR QDs with high signal to background sensitivity for targeted cellular imaging brings insights into the development of optical molecular imaging for early stage cancer diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences, National Research Council of Canada, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R6, Canada.
authors.forename: Md Badruz
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Zaman
authors.forename: Toya Nath
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Baral
authors.forename: Zygmunt J
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Jakubek
authors.forename: Jianbing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xiaohua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Whitfield
authors.forename: Kui
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000276:immunology; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000276:immunology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D018796:Immunoconjugates; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D045663:Quantum Dots; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; C504117:CEACAM6 protein, human; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins; D018796:Immunoconjugates