Abstract
BackgroundNear-infrared quantum dots (NIR QDs) are a new class of fluorescent labels with excellent bioimaging features, such as high fluorescence intensity, good fluorescence stability, sufficient electron density, and strong tissue-penetrating ability. For all such features, NIR QDs have great potential for early cancer diagnosis, in vivo tumor imaging and high resolution electron microscopy studies on cancer cells.ResultsIn the present study we constructed NIR QDs functionalized with the NT4 cancer-selective tetrabranched peptides (NT4-QDs). We observed specific uptake of NT4-QDs in human cancer cells in in vitro experiments and a much higher selective accumulation and retention of targeted QDs at the tumor site, compared to not targeted QDs, in a colon cancer mouse model.ConclusionsNIR QDs labelled with the tetrabranched NT4 peptide have very promising performance for selective addressing of tumor cells in vitro and in vivo, proving rising features of NT4-QDs as theranostics.
Highlights
Near-infrared quantum dots (NIR Quantum dots (QDs)) are a new class of fluorescent labels with excellent bioimaging features, such as high fluorescence intensity, good fluorescence stability, sufficient electron density, and strong tissuepenetrating ability
We report in vitro and in vivo tumor targeting and imaging by near infrared (NIR) QDs functionalized with tetra-branched NT4 peptides, which are very promising cancer theranostics by virtue of their already established high cancer selectivity
We demonstrated that NT4 binds to sulfated glycosaminoglycans and LRP receptors on cancer cells and tissues
Summary
Near-infrared quantum dots (NIR QDs) are a new class of fluorescent labels with excellent bioimaging features, such as high fluorescence intensity, good fluorescence stability, sufficient electron density, and strong tissuepenetrating ability. For all such features, NIR QDs have great potential for early cancer diagnosis, in vivo tumor imaging and high resolution electron microscopy studies on cancer cells. QDs can be conjugated with different molecules, such as antibodies or peptides, to obtain target-selective functional fluorescent nanodevices with unique optical properties These functional QD probes have been increasingly used for cell and molecular tracing, in in vivo tumor imaging and drug delivery [3, 4]. We reported that conjugation of paclitaxel with NT4 leads to increased therapeutic activity of the drug in an orthotopic model of breast cancer in mice and produces tumor regression which is not achieved with unconjugated paclitaxel under identical experimental conditions [20]
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