title: Crossing the blood-brain-barrier with transferrin conjugated carbon dots: A zebrafish model study.
abstract: Drug delivery to the central nervous system (CNS) in biological systems remains a major medical challenge due to the tight junctions between endothelial cells known as the blood-brain-barrier (BBB). Here we use a zebrafish model to explore the possibility of using transferrin-conjugated carbon dots (C-Dots) to ferry compounds across the BBB. C-Dots have previously been reported to inhibit protein fibrillation, and they are also used to deliver drugs for disease treatment. In terms of the potential medical application of C-Dots for the treatment of CNS diseases, one of the most formidable challenges is how to deliver them inside the CNS. To achieve this in this study, human transferrin was covalently conjugated to C-Dots. The conjugates were then injected into the vasculature of zebrafish to examine the possibility of crossing the BBB in vivo via transferrin receptor-mediated endocytosis. The experimental observations suggest that the transferrin-C-Dots can enter the CNS while C-Dots alone cannot.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, 1301 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, FL, 33146, United States.
authors.forename: Shanghao
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, 1301 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, FL, 33146, United States.
authors.forename: Zhili
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Miami, 1301 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, FL, 33146, United States.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dallman
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Miami, 1301 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, FL, 33146, United States.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science in Yanbu, Taibah University, Yanbu, Saudi Arabia; Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Sadat City, Sadat City, Egypt.
authors.forename: Abdelhameed M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Othman
authors.affiliation: University of Miami Center for Advanced Microscopy and Marine Geosciences, 1301 Memorial Drive, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, 33146, United States; Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center, 8000 North Ocean Drive, Dania, FL, 33004, United States.
authors.forename: Patrica L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Blackwelder
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, 1301 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, FL, 33146, United States. Electronic address: rml@miami.edu.
authors.forename: Roger M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Leblanc
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000378:metabolism*; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D008027:Light; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D023421:Models, Animal; D014168:Transferrin / Q000378:metabolism*; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014168:Transferrin; D002244:Carbon
keywords: Blood–brain–barrier; Carbon dots; Central nervous system; Transferrin