Targeting breast cancer cells with a CuInS2/ZnS quantum dot-labeled Ki-67 bioprobe

Abstract

Abstract. The aim of the present study was to develop a water-soluble biomarker for the detection of breast cancer using quantum dots (QDs) conjugated to Ki-67, a nuclear protein associated with the cell cycle. Ki-67 is also a marker of cell proliferation, with expression levels categorizing good and poor prognosis in invasive breast cancer. Ki-67 is a clinically used biomarker for breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. Owing to the optical and chemical advantages of QDs, QD-based nanotechnology may aid the construction of a biomedical imaging platform for the study of cancer cell behavior. In the present study, a biomarker was prepared by employing the water-soluble CuInS 2 /ZnS QDs conjugated to an anti-Ki-67 monoclonal antibody to detect Ki-67 expression in breast cancer. The QDs, which were hydrophobic and coated with octadecylamine, were encapsulated with an amphiphilic biocompatible centipede-like polymer, and then conjugated to anti-Ki-67 monoclonal antibodies (QD-Ki-67 probes). The QD-Ki-67 probes retained the original optical properties of the unadorned QDs and did not exhibit distinct toxic side effects in in vitro cytotoxicity experiments. Therefore, this CuInS 2 /ZnS QD-labeled bioprobe, with a high quantum yield and low cytotoxicity, is a promising candidate for bioimaging and may be used as a cell label.

Highly sensitive detection of dengue biomarker using streptavidin-conjugated quantum dots

“…The slight change in absorption spectra may be associated with the change in turbidity in the sample. The absorption spectra were similar shapes before and after the conjugation, which implied that the surface conjugation did not affect the functionality of the QDs/SA nanocrystals 23 . The conjugation of QDs/SA with Ab is known to be high affinity bindings between streptavidin molecules on QDs and biotin molecules on the antibody due to hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions 24 , 25 .…”

Cellular toxicity of silicon carbide nanomaterials as a function of morphology

“…Additionally, the SiCNWs can be surface modified with potential utility in molecular imaging or drug delivery. [60, 61] Also, we provided a comprehensive analysis on the impacts of SiC nanomaterials to hMSCs in terms of metabolic activity, viability, oxidative stress, adhesion, proliferation, migration, pluripotency, phenotype, gene expression levels, and cytokine secretion. Our results indicate that the cytotoxicity of SiC nanomaterials to hMSCs is shape-dependent SiCNWs is toxic to hMSCs but SiCNPs (both 80 nm and 600 nm) show no toxicity at the same labeling concentration.…”

The Photoluminescence and Biocompatibility of CuInS2-Based Ternary Quantum Dots and Their Biological Applications

“…These results suggested that even though the materials were capped with a PEG derivative, some of the inorganic materials were also released during the incubation. Sun et al [5] coated CIS/ZnS QDs with a PEG derivative followed by their conjugation to the Ki-67 protein for breast cancer (MDA-MB 2311) therapy. From the fluorescence images, they observed that QDs concentrated inside the nucleus rather than the cytoplasm, and this was attributed to the nuclear-targeting property of the Ki-67 protein.…”

“…Semiconductor nanoparticles, also referred to as zero-dimensional material or quantum dots (QDs), have gained significant interest in many areas of applications ranging from water to energy, sensing and biological applications due to their quantum confinement effect [1][2][3][4]. Compared to conventional organic dyes, QDs exhibit high photostability and tunable optical properties by changing the size and composition [5]. The development/research on binary QDs has received considerable interest, and the field has been explored extensively; however, only a few commercial products have been developed due to their toxic composition [6].…”