Fluorescent Nanodiamond – A Novel Nanomaterial forIn VivoApplications

Abstract

Fluorescent nanodiamonds (FNDs) with a size in the range of 10 – 100 nm have been produced by ion irradiation and annealing, and isolated by differential centrifugation. Single particle spectroscopic characterization with confocal fluorescence microscopy and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy indicates that they are photostable and useful as an alternative to far-red fluorescent proteins for bioimaging applications. We demonstrate the application by performing in vivo imaging of bare and bioconjugated FND particles (100 nm in diameter) in C. elegans and zebrafishes and exploring the interactions between this novel nanomaterial and the model organisms. Our results indicate that FNDs can be delivered to the embryos of both organisms by microinjection and eventually into the hatched larvae in the next generation. No deleterious effects have been observed for the carbon-based nanoparticles in vivo. The high fluorescence brightness, excellent photostability, and nontoxic nature of the nanomaterial have allowed long-term imaging and tracking of embryogenesis in the organisms.

Carbon nanomaterials: multi-functional agents for biomedical fluorescence and Raman imaging

“…263 It was found that the NDs entered the food vacuoles of the microorganisms and were excreted later on. 265 It was found that for both organisms, NDs could be delivered to the embryos of the next generation providing excellent fluorescence properties for in vivo imaging. The toxicity of NDs for the observed microorganisms was low, but nevertheless significantly larger than as previously reported for in vitro cell cultures.…”

“…The same authors followed up the latter work by utilizing bare and bioconjugated NDs in C. elegans and zebrafish. 265 It was found that for both organisms, NDs could be delivered to the embryos of the next generation providing excellent fluorescence properties for in vivo imaging. In a study from 2012, Igarashi et al studied the application of fluorescent NDs as imaging probes in vivo in C. elegans and mice.…”