Ultrabright fluorescent silica nanoparticles for in vivo targeting of xenografted human tumors and cancer cells in zebrafish

Abstract

New ultrabright fluorescent silica nanoparticles for targeting cancers in vivo are presented.

Preclinical evaluation of platinum-loaded hydroxyapatite nanoparticles in an embryonic zebrafish xenograft model

“…23,48 Similarly, zebrafish embryos were also employed in other studies to characterize ultrabright fluorescent silica nanoparticles for targeting of xenografted human epithelial cancer cells. 53 Fig. 4 Biodistribution of fluorescently labeled HA-Cit and HA nanoparticles in zebrafish embryo.…”

Functionalized Fluorescent Silica Nanoparticles for Bioimaging of Cancer Cells

“…Although the quantum yield of those fluorescent silica nanoparticles was lower than that of the free dye in water solution ( Table 3 ), the relative brightness of nanoparticles was usually much higher, about tens of times, due to a greater number of fluorophores per particle, enhancing the signal and consequently the sensitivity in the fluorescence imaging detection. Taking into account the area of fluorescence spectra of each suspension and the dye solution, the diameter of nanoparticles, the number of nanoparticles and R101 molecules in the cuvette [ 76 ] (see more details in ESI), MSN-C-R101-70-PEG and MSN-S-R101-60-PEG showed a relative brightness of 230 and 260 times respect R101 in water, which made them at least one order of magnitude brighter than the most used quantum dots [ 41 , 54 , 76 , 77 , 78 ].…”

“…A part of using fluorescent dyes to label nanoparticles, the external surface of nanoparticles can be further functionalized with molecules that confer stability in aqueous solution. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is a molecule that improves water stability, minimizes non-specific interactions with other molecules in the extracellular matrix, and does not activate the immune response [ 26 , 27 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 ]. Thus, PEG ensures nanoparticles dispersion and high bioavailability to cells.…”

“…For instance, folate receptors (FRs) exhibit limited expression on healthy cells, but are overexpressed on cancer cells in ovary, mammary gland, colon, lung, prostate, nose, throat, and brain [ 56 , 57 ]. Therefore functionalization of silica nanoparticles with folic acid (FA) turns them into highly selective sensors of cancer cells [ 43 , 53 , 54 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 ].…”

Imaging of Molecular Coating on Nanoparticle Surface Using AFM Ringing Mode

“…Furthermore, PEG coating on cellulose acetate particles can also be imaged in Ringing mode (though it is hard to estimate the resolution because of a rather smooth coating of cellulose acetate particles). Figure 1 shows a representative example of Ringing mode imaging of a nanoparticle made of mesoporous silica [4] and cellulose acetate [5,6]. Panel (a) shows the path of the AFM probe oscillating above the surface in a sub-resonance mode.…”