Tracking Hyaluronan: Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Coated Carbon Dots for Cancer Cell Targeting and Imaging

Abstract

War against cancer constantly requires new affinity tools to selectively detect, localize, and quantify biomarkers for diagnosis or prognosis. Herein, carbon nanodots (CDs), an emerging class of fluorescent nanomaterials, coupled with molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), are employed as a biocompatible optical imaging tool for probing cancer biomarkers. First, N-doped CDs were prepared by hydrothermal synthesis using starch as carbon source and l-tryptophan as nitrogen atom provider to achieve a high quantum yield of 25.1 ± 2%. The CDs have a typical size of ∼3.2 nm and produce an intense fluorescence at 450 nm upon excitation with UV light. A MIP shell for specific recognition of glucuronic acid (GlcA) was then synthesized around the CDs, using the emission of the CDs as an internal light source for photopolymerization. GlcA is a substructure (epitope) of hyaluronan, a biomarker for certain cancers. The biotargeting and bioimaging of hyaluronan on fixated human cervical cancer cells using CD core-MIP shell nanocomposites is demonstrated. Human keratinocytes were used as noncancerous reference cells and indeed, less staining was observed by the CD-MIP.

Carbon Dots for In Vivo Bioimaging and Theranostics

“…Furthermore, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP) were introduced into the CD platform, as alternative receptors to antibodies, and could support selective targeting with good affinity. Haupt and co‐workers developed nitrogen‐doped CDs coated with an MIP shell for imaging cancer cells by tracking hyaluronic acid (HA), whose receptor is an overexpressed membrane protein of certain cancers, such as human cervical cancer …”

Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Micro- and Nano-Particles: A Review

“…Thus, the use of carbon-based materials (CBM) as a matrix provides high versatility on the selection of polymers and high robustness to the final sensor. Different types of CBM have been explored in the synthesis of MIPs, such as graphene oxide [ 85 , 86 , 87 ], carbon dots [ 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 ], and carbon nanotubes [ 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 ]. Most of these application employs CBM as a substrate to support the MIP, that can be synthesized in different shapes and sizes, depending on the selected CBM.…”

Epitope Imprinting Technology: Progress, Applications, and Perspectives toward Artificial Antibodies

“…Epitope imprinting could also be coupled with carbon nanodots (CDs), an emerging class of fluorescent nanomaterials, to create biocompatible optical imaging tools for probing cancer biomarkers . Demir et al used glucuronic acid, a subcomponent of hyaluronan associated with tumor progression in humans, as an epitope template.…”