title: Direct Synthesis of Water-Soluble Aptamer-Ag2 S Quantum Dots at Ambient Temperature for Specific Imaging and Photothermal Therapy of Cancer.
abstract: Water-soluble Ag2 S near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent quantum dots (QDs) are directly synthesized at ambient temperature for specific cancer imaging and photothermal therapy (PTT) using a designed aptamer (Apt43) as template, which consists of the following two fragments: an aptamer S2.2 sequence for specifically recognizing the cancer cells and an 18-cytosine (18-C) extending spacer for growing Ag2 S QDs. The synthesized Ag2 S QDs (Apt43-Ag2 S QDs), which exhibit strong absorption and fluorescence emission in the NIR region and high photothermal conversion capabilities, can specifically recognize MCF-7 cells (human breast cancer cells) and are usable as a highly intensified imaging agent for cancer diagnosis. Moreover, they can be applied as photothermal agents for the in vitro killing of MCF-7 cells and the in vivo ablation of tumors, which were constructed on the bodies of nude mice. MCF-7 cells almost quantitatively die after they are incubated with the QDs (at 100 μg mL(-1) ) for 2 h and irradiated under an 808 nm laser at a power density of 1.0 W cm(-2) for 10 min. The tumors on the nude mice can also be effectively ablated without regrowth during the period of observation (at least 20 d) after PTT.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of New Power Batteries, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Biomedical Functional Materials, National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Biomedical Functional Materials, College of Chemistry and Material Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210097, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jingwen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of New Power Batteries, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Biomedical Functional Materials, National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Biomedical Functional Materials, College of Chemistry and Material Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210097, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Chuanli
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of New Power Batteries, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Biomedical Functional Materials, National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Biomedical Functional Materials, College of Chemistry and Material Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210097, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of New Power Batteries, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Biomedical Functional Materials, National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Biomedical Functional Materials, College of Chemistry and Material Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210097, P. R. China. wuping@njnu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of New Power Batteries, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Biomedical Functional Materials, National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Biomedical Functional Materials, College of Chemistry and Material Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210097, P. R. China. cxcai@njnu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Chenxin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cai
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007036:Hypothermia, Induced / Q000379:methods*; D061986:MCF-7 Cells; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D010789:Phototherapy / Q000379:methods*; D045663:Quantum Dots / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018030:Silver Compounds / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D012995:Solubility; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
chemical_list: D018030:Silver Compounds; C013251:silver sulfide
keywords: Ag2S quantum dots; aptamer; cancer diagnosis; fluorescence imaging; photothermal therapy