title: Folic acid modified gelatine coated quantum dots as potential reagents for in vitro cancer diagnostics.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Gelatine coating was previously shown to effectively reduce the cytotoxicity of CdTe Quantum Dots (QDs) which was a first step towards utilising them for biomedical applications. To be useful they also need to be target-specific which can be achieved by conjugating them with Folic Acid (FA).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The modification of QDs with FA via an original "one-pot" synthetic route was proved successful by a range of characterisation techniques including UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, Photoluminescence (PL) emission spectroscopy, fluorescence life-time measurements, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS). The resulting nanocomposites were tested in Caco-2 cell cultures which over-express FA receptors. The presence of FA on the surface of QDs significantly improved the uptake by targeted cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The modification with folic acid enabled to achieve a significant cellular uptake and cytotoxicity towards a selected cancer cell lines (Caco-2) of gelatine-coated TGA-CdTe quantum dots, which demonstrated good potential for in vitro cancer diagnostics.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.
authors.forename: Valérie A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Gérard
authors.forename: Ciaran M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Maguire
authors.forename: Despina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bazou
authors.forename: Yurii K
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Gun'ko
mesh_terms: D018938:Caco-2 Cells; D019187:Cadmium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D058973:Folate Receptors, GPI-Anchored / Q000378:metabolism; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D005780:Gelatin / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D045663:Quantum Dots; D013691:Tellurium / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D019187:Cadmium Compounds; D058973:Folate Receptors, GPI-Anchored; D005780:Gelatin; D005492:Folic Acid; D013691:Tellurium; C028337:cadmium telluride
references.citation: ChemMedChem. 2007 Feb;2(2):183-6
references.pmid: 17177232
references.citation: Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2004 Apr 29;56(8):1085-97
references.pmid: 15094208
references.citation: Clin Diagn Lab Immunol. 2001 Nov;8(6):1131-5
references.pmid: 11687452
references.citation: Nanotechnology. 2009 Mar 4;20(9):095102
references.pmid: 19417477
references.citation: Biomaterials. 2009 May;30(14):2790-8
references.pmid: 19232712
references.citation: J Control Release. 2007 Dec 4;124(1-2):28-34
references.pmid: 17928088
references.citation: J Microencapsul. 2007 Nov;24(7):647-59
references.pmid: 17763059
references.citation: J Mater Chem. 2009 Jan 1;19:4655-4672
references.pmid: 20305738
references.citation: Toxicol In Vitro. 2009 Sep;23(6):1007-13
references.pmid: 19540911
references.citation: J Phys Chem B. 2008 Nov 20;112(46):14482-91
references.pmid: 18717546
references.citation: J Am Chem Soc. 2005 Aug 17;127(32):11364-71
references.pmid: 16089466
references.citation: J Mol Med (Berl). 2005 May;83(5):377-85
references.pmid: 15688234
references.citation: Int J Mol Sci. 2009 Feb;10(2):656-73
references.pmid: 19333427
references.citation: Small. 2007 Jul;3(7):1152-6
references.pmid: 17534993
references.citation: J Nutr. 2001 Nov;131(11):2819-25
references.pmid: 11694602
references.citation: J Nanobiotechnology. 2010 Mar 25;8:7
references.pmid: 20338051
references.citation: J Biomed Mater Res B Appl Biomater. 2006 Jan;76(1):161-8
references.pmid: 16208637
references.citation: Chem Commun (Camb). 2011 Jul 7;47(25):7039-50
references.pmid: 21475767
references.citation: Nat Nanotechnol. 2010 Jan;5(1):42-7
references.pmid: 19893516
references.citation: Chem Commun (Camb). 2010 Jun 21;46(23):4151-3
references.pmid: 20454745