title: One pot synthesis of highly luminescent polyethylene glycol anchored carbon dots functionalized with a nuclear localization signal peptide for cell nucleus imaging.
abstract: Strong blue fluorescent polyethylene glycol (PEG) anchored carbon nitride dots (CDs@PEG) with a high quantum yield (QY) of 75.8% have been synthesized by a one step hydrothermal treatment. CDs with a diameter of ca. 6 nm are well dispersed in water and present a graphite-like structure. Photoluminescence (PL) studies reveal that CDs display excitation-dependent behavior and are stable under various test conditions. Based on the as-prepared CDs, we designed novel cell nucleus targeting imaging carbon dots functionalized with a nuclear localization signal (NLS) peptide. The favourable biocompatibilities of CDs and NLS modified CDs (NLS-CDs) are confirmed by in vitro cytotoxicity assays. Importantly, intracellular localization experiments in MCF7 and A549 cells demonstrate that NLS-CDs could be internalized in the nucleus and show blue light, which indicates that CDs may serve as cell nucleus imaging probes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutics, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, 110016, P. R. China. wangycsyphu@126.com pharm305@126.com.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Weihua
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Lipeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Xuewei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Daiying
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zuo
authors.forename: Dongkai
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D061986:MCF-7 Cells; D008422:Materials Testing; D015335:Molecular Probes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D009570:Nitriles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D019913:Nuclear Localization Signals / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D045663:Quantum Dots / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D015335:Molecular Probes; D009570:Nitriles; D019913:Nuclear Localization Signals; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; C011206:cyanogen; C000595209:polyethylene glycol 1000