Study of polycation-capped Mn:ZnSe quantum dots as a novel fluorescent probe for living cells.
Transition metal manganese ion (Mn(2+)) doped zinc selenide quantum dots (Mn:ZnSe D-Dots) have been considered as a new material for fluorescent probes in biological labeling. However, this application is limited by the low membrane permeability of D-Dots. In this work, Mn:ZnSe D-Dots were capped with the polycation Sofast to label living cells. For the first time, the efficiency of cellular uptake in living cells is significantly enhanced. Various molar ratios of Sofast to D-Dots were explored and compared to obtain the optimal reaction conditions between Sofast and D-Dots for preparing Sofast/D-Dots nano-compound. A comparison on the fluorescence labeling ability of living cells were made between Sofast/D-Dots and pure D-Dots. Results from laser scanning confocal microscope show that Sofast/D-Dots complexes enter the cells more efficiently than pure D-Dots, even with a lower concentration and shorter incubation time. The cytotoxicities of D-Dots and Sofast/D-Dots were also studied. It was found that Sofast/D-Dots have a much lower cytotoxicity than cadmium-containing quantum dots (i.e. CdTe and CdTe/ZnS). Our results suggest that the non-heavy-metal-containing Sofast/D-Dots complexes have a great potential in the application of biological labeling, especially of long-time bioimaging in living cells.
Key Laboratory of Micro and Nano Photonic Structures (Ministry of Education), Department of Optical Science and Engineering, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Ultra-Precision Optical Manufacturing, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai, 200433, People's Republic of China.
Xiaobo
X
Pan
Zheng
Z
Li
Tianlong
T
Wang
Jin
J
Xie
Pei-Nan
PN
Wang
Ji-Yao
JY
Chen
Li
L
Chen
Lan
L
Mi
D002104:Cadmium / Q000737:chemistry; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000473:pathology*; D002470:Cell Survival; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D008345:Manganese / Q000737:chemistry*; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D061848:Optical Imaging; D011073:Polyamines / Q000737:chemistry*; D000071228:Polyelectrolytes; D045663:Quantum Dots; D018036:Selenium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry; D017967:Zinc Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*
D002104:Cadmium; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D008345:Manganese; D011073:Polyamines; D000071228:Polyelectrolytes; D018036:Selenium Compounds; D014867:Water; D017967:Zinc Compounds; C044696:zinc selenide