Fluorescent small Au nanodots prepared from large Ag nanoparticles for targeting and imaging cancer cells

Abstract

Developing an approach for targeting and detecting cancer cells has long been a challenge. Herein, the folic acid (FA) conjugated gold nanodots (Au NDs) are designed for specifically targeting and imaging folate receptor (FR) positive cancerous cells. Fluorescent small Au NDs were synthesized using stable Ag NPs with size above 50 nm and GSH as capping agent. This method solves the problems of low stability and difficulty in purification of small Ag NDs as templates. The resulting Au NDs display pink fluorescence with an emission peak at 582 nm. As-prepared Au NDs provide tunable fluorescence with a significant red shift ($60 nm) with increase in the amount of GSH. In addition, GSH acts as a protecting layer, which could provide original functional groups (thiol, carboxyl and amine) and make Au NDs exhibit outstanding properties such as dispersibility in water, high stability, good biocompatibility and surface bioactivity. These characteristics make them suitable for further conjugation with FA. FA-conjugated Au NDs show the specific target HeLa cancer cells compared with 293T normal cells. These properties provide Au NDs with potential applications in distinguishing FR-positive cancer cells from normal cells.

Gold‐Cluster‐Based Dual‐Emission Nanocomposite Film as Ratiometric Fluorescent Sensing Paper for Specific Metal Ion

“…The fluorescence QY of the as‐prepared Au NCs in aqueous solution at room temperature was about 4.6% using quinine sulfate (0.1 m H 2 SO 4 as solvent, QY = 54%) as a reference. As shown in Figure b, Au NCs were well dispersed and had an ultrasmall size with a diameter of 1.7 ± 0.4 nm, similar to the previous report . The X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results showed that the binding energy (BE) at 84.1 and 88.3 eV were attributed to the Au (0) and Au (I) coexistence of Au 4f (see Figure S1 in the Supporting Information) .…”

AIEgens‐Functionalized Inorganic‐Organic Hybrid Materials: Fabrications and Applications

“…Intensive efforts have been focused on the fabrication of novel fluorescence labeling materials to further improve the specificity recognition ability by modified with recognition elements and ligands. The silica materials can be easily modified with functional groups such as folic acid, biotin, or peptide by reacting with trialkoxysilane molecules to attack cancer cells with high specificity . Tian and coworkers presented highly emissive mesoporous silica nanoparticles with AIEgen core 9,10‐distyrylanthracene (DSA) and folic acid‐functionalized silica shell for targeted HeLa cell imaging ( Figure a,b) .…”

Metal Nanoparticles: Advanced and Promising Technology in Diabetic Wound Therapy

“…These versatile properties of MNPs render them invaluable in both therapeutic and diagnostic applications. 9 , 10 MNPs also facilitate intelligent drug release, such as the ability to be externally triggered by infrared radiation or magnetic fields, thereby achieving multi-stimulus-responsive drug release. 11 , 12 This property provides effective targeting to the complex healing process of diabetic wounds, allowing progress toward accelerated healing at different stages of wound healing.…”