Ruthenium nitrosyl grafted carbon dots as a fluorescence-trackable nanoplatform for visible light-controlled nitric oxide release and targeted intracellular delivery.
Nitric oxide (NO) plays a key role in various physiological and pathological processes. It is of great significance in developing a platform that enables exogenous delivery of NO spatiotemporally to a targeted site for realizing NO-mediated therapy. We report herein a stable, multifunctional NO-delivery nanoplatform that is capable of target directing, fluorescence tracking, and light-controlled NO delivery. A ruthenium nitrosyl [Ru(TPYCOOH)(o-phenylenediamine)(NO)](PF6)3and a target-directing molecule of folic acid (FA) were covalently grafted onto the surface of a carrier of carbon dots (CDs), forming a {Ru-NO@FA@CDs} nanoplatform. This nanoplatform is fluorescence self-trackable in a cellular environment and can recognize specific cancer cells via FA-folate receptor binding; it was selectively taken up by cancer cells to enter the cytosol, in which localized NO was produced on demand by adept control of visible light illumination. This offered the potential for treating diseases derived from NO deficiency as well as NO-mediated cancer therapy.
Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials of MOE, Department of Chemistry, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, PR China.
Qiao
Q
Deng
Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials of MOE, Department of Chemistry, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, PR China.
Hui-Jing
HJ
Xiang
Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials of MOE, Department of Chemistry, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, PR China.
Wei-Wei
WW
Tang
Key Laboratory of Resource Chemistry of MOE, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Functional Materials, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, PR China.
Lu
L
An
Key Laboratory of Resource Chemistry of MOE, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Functional Materials, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, PR China.
Shi-Ping
SP
Yang
Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer, College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, PR China.
Qian-Ling
QL
Zhang
Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials of MOE, Department of Chemistry, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, PR China. Electronic address: liujingang@ecust.edu.cn.
Jin-Gang
JG
Liu
D000072283:A549 Cells; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008027:Light; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D045663:Quantum Dots / Q000737:chemistry*; D012428:Ruthenium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology
D009569:Nitric Oxide; D002244:Carbon; D012428:Ruthenium
Carbon dots; Nanoplatform; Nitric oxide; Photo-release; Ruthenium nitrosyl; Targeted delivery