ROS-Responsive Fluorescent Sensor Array for Precise Diagnosis of Cancer via pH-Controlled Multicolor Gold Nanoclusters

Abstract

Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) are closely associated with cancer cell types. Therefore, ROS-based pattern recognition is a promising strategy for precise diagnosis of cancer, but such a possibility has never been reported yet. Herein, we proposed an ROS-responsive fluorescent sensor array based on pH-controlled histidine-templated gold nanoclusters (AuNCs@ His) to distinguish cancer cell types and their proliferation states. In this strategy, three types of AuNCs@His with diverse fluorescence profiles were first synthesized by only adjusting the pH value. Upon the addition of various ROS, fluorescence quenching of three types of AuNCs@His occurred with different degrees, thereby forming unique optical "fingerprints", which were well-clustered into several separated groups without overlap by principal component analysis (PCA). The sensing mechanism was attributable to the oxidation of AuNCs@His by ROS, as revealed by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Based on the ROS-responsive sensing pattern, cancer cell types were successfully differentiated via PCA with 100% accuracy. Additionally, the proposed sensor array exhibited excellent performance in distinguishing the proliferation states of cancer cells, which was supported by the results of the Ki-67 immunohistochemistry assay. Overall, the ROS-responsive fluorescent sensor array can serve as a promising tool for precise diagnosis of cancer, indicating great potential for clinical application.

Enhancing Local CO2 Adsorption by L‐histidine Incorporation for Selective Formate Production Over the Wide Potential Window

“…The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) survey spectrum of both BH-0 and BH-10 (Figure S3a) displays their main characteristic peaks associated with Bi, O, and C elements, confirming the main components of Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 . The C 1s spectrum of BH-10 exhibits a discernible C=N signal at 285.70 eV, [13] a characteristic feature that is absent in the BH-0 (Figure S3b). Furthermore, the BH-10 exhibits the clear N 1s peaks at 401.37, 399.75, and 398.37 eV, corresponding to the primary (α-N), secondary (β-N), and tertiary (γ-N) amines of L-histidine, respectively (Figure S3c).…”

Development of Optical Differential Sensing Based on Nanomaterials for Biological Analysis

“…A pH-controlled histidine-templated AuNC (AuNCs@His) [147] was developed for a fluorescent sensor array that responds to reactive oxygen species (ROS) for distinguishing cancer cell types and their proliferation states. The sensor array exhibited excellent performance in accurately differentiating cancer cell types and their proliferation states, indicating great potential for precise cancer diagnosis (Figure 3).…”