Abstract
Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) demonstrate outstanding biocompatibility and optical properties, making them ideal for monitoring cellular uptake. Due to their ultra-small size (typically < 10nm) and fluorescent nature, CQDs hold significant potential as nanoparticles for bioimaging and tracking intracellular processes. The study examined the optimization parameters for conjugating calf thymus DNA (Ct-DNA) to CQDs to facilitate Ct-DNA internalization in mouse fibroblast cells (L929) and human breast cancer cells (MCF-7). The formation of the CQD-Ct-DNA complex was confirmed by various characterization techniques such as, UV-Vis spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and zeta potential analysis. The CQD-Ct-DNA complex, at a 600µg/mL concentration, demonstrated up to 83.7% cell viability for the L929 cell line and 75.6% for the MCF7 cell lines. The research also compared the transfection ability of CQD with commonly used transfection agents lipofectamine and Polyethyleneimine (PEI) for Ct-DNA internalization. The results demonstrated that CQD could efficiently internalize Ct-DNA compared to the other agents. Thus, the CQD-Ct-DNA complex shows promising potential in bioimaging applications as an effective non-viral vector.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call