Facile Construction of Near Infrared Fluorescence Nanoprobe with Amphiphilic Protein-Polymer Bioconjugate for Targeted Cell Imaging.
A simple, straightforward, and reproducible strategy for the construction of a near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence nanoprobe was developed by coating CuInS2/ZnS quantum dots (CIS/ZnS QDs) with a novel amphiphilic bioconjugate. The amphiphilic bioconjugate with a tailor-designed structure of bovine serum albumin (BSA) as the hydrophilic segment and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) as the hydrophobic part was fabricated by chemical coupling the hydrophobic polymer chain to BSA via the maleimide-sulfhydryl reaction. By incorporating CIS/ZnS QDs into the hydrophobic cores of the self-assembly of BSA-PCL conjugate, the constructed NIR fluorescence nanoprobe exhibited excellent fluorescent properties over a wide pH range (pH 3-10) and a good colloidal stability in PBS buffer (pH = 7.4) with or without 10% fetal bovine serum. The presence of the outer BSA shell effectively reduced the nonspecific cellular binding and imparted high biocompatibility and low-toxicity to the probe. Moreover, the NIR fluorescence nanoprobe could be functionalized by conjugating cyclic Arg-Gly-Asp (cRGD) peptide, and the decorated nanoprobe was shown to be highly selective for targeted integrin αvβ3-overexpressed tumor cell imaging. The feasibility of the constructed NIR fluorescence probe in vivo application was further investigated and the results demonstrated its great potential for in vivo imaging. This developed protocol for phase transfer of the CIS/ZnS QDs was universal and applicable to other nanoparticles stabilized with hydrophobic ligands.
School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University and Tianjin Engineering Center of Micro-Nano Biomaterials and Detection-Treatment Technology , Tianjin 300072, P.R. China.|Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Yantai, Shandong 264003, P.R. China.
Zhongyun
Z
Liu
Department of Medical Radioprotection, School of Radiation Medicine and Health, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, Soochow University , Suzhou, 200072, P. R. China.
Na
N
Chen
School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University and Tianjin Engineering Center of Micro-Nano Biomaterials and Detection-Treatment Technology , Tianjin 300072, P.R. China.
Chunhong
C
Dong
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital , Tianjin 300052, P. R. China.
Wei
W
Li
School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University and Tianjin Engineering Center of Micro-Nano Biomaterials and Detection-Treatment Technology , Tianjin 300072, P.R. China.
Weisheng
W
Guo
School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University and Tianjin Engineering Center of Micro-Nano Biomaterials and Detection-Treatment Technology , Tianjin 300072, P.R. China.
Hanjie
H
Wang
School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University and Tianjin Engineering Center of Micro-Nano Biomaterials and Detection-Treatment Technology , Tianjin 300072, P.R. China.
Sheng
S
Wang
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital , Tianjin 300052, P. R. China.
Jian
J
Tan
Department of Medical Radioprotection, School of Radiation Medicine and Health, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, Soochow University , Suzhou, 200072, P. R. China.
Yu
Y
Tu
School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University and Tianjin Engineering Center of Micro-Nano Biomaterials and Detection-Treatment Technology , Tianjin 300072, P.R. China.
Jin
J
Chang
D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D016923:Cell Death; D002470:Cell Survival; D005260:Female; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008819:Mice, Nude; D057054:Molecular Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D045663:Quantum Dots / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine / Q000378:metabolism*; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; D013440:Sulfides / Q000737:chemistry; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D017967:Zinc Compounds / Q000737:chemistry
D011091:Polyesters; D013440:Sulfides; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D017967:Zinc Compounds; C016240:polycaprolactone; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine; C031238:zinc sulfide
BSA; CuInS2/ZnS quantum dots; fluorescence nanoprobe; protein-polymer conjugate; self-assembly