Nanoparticles as fluorescent labels for optical imaging and sensing in genomics and proteomics

Abstract

Optical labelling reagents (dyes and fluorophores) are an essential component of probe-based biomolecule detection, an approach widely employed in a variety of areas including environmental analysis, disease diagnostics, pharmaceutical screening, and proteomic and genomic studies. Recently, functional nanomaterials, as a new generation of high-value optical labels, have been applied to molecular detection. The great potential of such recent optical labels has paved the way for the development of new biomolecule assays with unprecedented analytical performance characteristics, related to sensitivity, multiplexing capability, sample throughput, cost-effectiveness and ease of use. This review aims to provide an overview of recent advances using different nanoparticles (such as quantum dots, rare earth doped nanoparticles or gold nanoparticles) for analytical genomics and proteomics, with particular emphasis on the outlook for different strategies of using nanoparticles for bioimaging and quantitative bioanalytical applications, as well as possibilities and limitations of nanoparticles in such a growing field.

Tailoring the interplay between electromagnetic fields and nanomaterials toward applications in life sciences: a review

“…[223][224][225] As in the case of Au NPs, QDs can be functionalized with biomolecules, which allow for competitive assays or simply analyte recognition whereby the fluorescence is "switch on/off". 226 Next in this section, basic principles and some examples regarding surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) biosensing are discussed. However, for details about the opportunities and challenges that this ultrasensitive technique can offer, the reader is referred to a recent work of Alvarez-Puebla and coworkers.…”

Surfactant-free synthesis of sub-100 nm poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) nanoparticles by one-step ultrasonic assisted emulsification/polymerization

“…71 The total monomer concentration in the aqueous phase was X St  S St(pure) + X DVB  S DVB(pure) . e Total monomer in water was calculated as a function of ND size by using the Kelvin equation (eqn (2)), where V m is the molar volume of the St/DVB mixture; the molar volumes of pure monomers V m,St ¼ 114 cm 3 and V m,DVB ¼ 140 cm 3 were calculated by dividing the molar mass (M) with the density of pure monomers (r St ¼ 0.909 g cm À3 ; r DVB ¼ 0.93 g cm À3 ). nucleation, for which the particle size depends on the ratio of the surfactant to the initiator used.…”

“…where S(r) is the solubility (mol cm À3 ) of a particle of radius r (cm), S 0 is the bulk solubility (mol cm À3 ), g is the interfacial tension (J cm À2 ), V m is the molar volume of the dispersed phase (cm 3 ), R is the gas constant (8.314 J K À1 mol À1 ), and T is the temperature (300 K). Eqn (2) shows that a smaller IFT (i.e., g) leads to a reduced solubility (i.e., S), which is in contrast to the effect observed experimentally in Fig.…”

Emerging nanotechnological research for future pathways of biomedicine

“…In fact, Gold NPs or rare earth doped particles fluoresce once irradiated with particular wavelengths, such that they are also used for optical imaging of proteins and genes. Several dye-containing or dye-doped NPs -such as Silica NPs or Calcium phosphate NPs -are important for in-vivo or ex-vivo near infrared fluorescence imaging of cancers (Coto-García et al, 2011;Ray et al, 2011).…”