Abstract
BackgroundThe unique and tuneable photonic properties of Quantum Dots (QDs) have made them potentially useful tools for imaging biological entities. However, QDs though attractive diagnostic and therapeutic tools, have a major disadvantage due to their inherent cytotoxic nature. The cellular interaction, uptake and resultant toxic influence of CdTe QDs (gelatinised and non-gelatinised Thioglycolic acid (TGA) capped) have been investigated with pheochromocytoma 12 (PC12) cells. In conjunction to their analysis by confocal microscopy, the QD - cell interplay was explored as the QD concentrations were varied over extended (up to 72 hours) co-incubation times. Coupled to this investigation, cell viability, DNA quantification and cell proliferation assays were also performed to compare and contrast the various factors leading to cell stress and ultimately death.ResultsThioglycolic acid (TGA) stabilised CdTe QDs (gel and non - gel) were co-incubated with PC12 cells and investigated as to how their presence influenced cell behaviour and function. Cell morphology was analysed as the QD concentrations were varied over co-incubations up to 72 hours. The QDs were found to be excellent fluorophores, illuminating the cytoplasm of the cells and no deleterious effects were witnessed at concentrations of ~10-9 M. Three assays were utilised to probe how individual cell functions (viability, DNA quantification and proliferation) were affected by the presence of the QDs at various concentrations and incubation times. Cell response was found to not only be concentration dependant but also influenced by the surface environment of the QDs. Gelatine capping on the surface acts as a barrier towards the leaking of toxic atoms, thus reducing the negative impact of the QDs.ConclusionThis study has shown that under the correct conditions, QDs can be routinely used for the imaging of PC12 cells with minimal adverse effects. We have found that PC12 cells are highly susceptible to an increased concentration range of the QDs, while the gelatine coating acts as a barrier towards enhanced toxicity at higher QD concentrations.
Highlights
The unique and tuneable photonic properties of Quantum Dots (QDs) have made them potentially useful tools for imaging biological entities
The crude solutions were purified via size selective precipitation and individual fractions were characterised by UV-vis absorption and photoluminescence (PL) emission spectroscopy
The presence of gelatine on the QD surface was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) which shows an additional 10% weight loss for the gel compared to non-gel QDs
Summary
The unique and tuneable photonic properties of Quantum Dots (QDs) have made them potentially useful tools for imaging biological entities. The cellular interaction, uptake and resultant toxic influence of CdTe QDs (gelatinised and non-gelatinised Thioglycolic acid (TGA) capped) have been investigated with pheochromocytoma 12 (PC12) cells In conjunction to their analysis by confocal microscopy, the QD - cell interplay was explored as the QD concentrations were varied over extended (up to 72 hours) co-incubation times. Semiconductor nanoparticles or Quantum Dots (QDs) have been widely touted as new replacements for traditional dyes for the imaging of living cells and tissues Due to their extremely small size QDs can, via specific and non-specific pathways penetrate and label both the exterior and interior of numerous cell types [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. In an effort to combat this problem, much research has been conducted into the mechanisms that result in QDs acting as toxic agents once exposed to a cellular environment [37,38,39,40,41,42,43] and ways of reducing their toxicological impact via non-toxic coatings [44]
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