Efficient cancer treatment remains a huge challenge worldwide. As reported by the World HealthOrganization, the number of cancer patients is estimated to be 24 million in 2035, which is a 70% increasecompared to 14.1 million in 2012. The severity of cancer is due to the presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs),which are directly related to drug resistance, metastasis, and tumor relapse. Because of the unknown location ofthe primary tumor and/or the residency of CSCs, standard therapies deliver a high dose of drugs to the whole body,which can have negative effects and deadly consequences for patients undergoing treatment. Therefore, efficientluminescent materials for labeling and tracking CSCs are urgently needed to determine their distribution andtarget treatment. Herein, a fluorescent Tb3+ nano-ion and CD133 monoclonal antibody (mAb) were conjugatedinto a nano probe-complex (ET2). Tb3+ nano-ion is a rare-earth element and the CD133 mAb targets CD133,which is a CSC surface marker. The Tb3+ nanorods were surface treated with silica and activated with -NH2 forfunctioning before being coupled with CD133 mAb. Strong fluorescent Tb3+ nanorods were used to decrease thetoxicity of high-dose medicines, and the purpose of the CD133 mAb was to increase the specific binding capacityof CSCs to the ET2 nanocomplex. The luminescent properties of this coupled ET2 complex were determinedand its ability to target and label CSCs was determined using the pluripotent human embryonic carcinoma cellline, NTERA-2. Fluorescence microscopy showed strong luminescent signals from ET2-exposed NTERA-2cells. It was also demonstrated that the ET2 nanocomplex effectively labeled up to 97.74% of the tested NTERA-2 cells, but only 2.35% of CCD-18Co human colon normal cells. Therefore, these results show that the ET2luminescent nanocomplex specifically targeted and labeled CSCs, and may be used for further applications infundamental and clinical research.

Nanotechnology is the key technology that brings many important applications in biomedical research.Nanolantanites present high stability, easy fabrication and functionalization. Tb3+ ion-containing nanomaterial, a specific type of nanolantanites, possess great prospects. In addition, cancer stem cells (CSCs) are directlyrelated to drug resistance, metastasis, recurrent cancer, etc. Therefore, CSCs are considered as the target forcancer researching and for discovery of more effective therapies. CD133, a trans-membrane glycoprotein, isone of the typical markers that are found to appear very commonly on the surface of many types of CSCs. Inthis study, CD133 monoclonal antibody (MAb) was cojugated with nanomaterials containing Tb3+. Thecoupling between fluorescented nanomaterials containing Tb3+ ions and CD133 MAb was then incubated withhuman colon cancer cells (HT-29) to evaluate its ability to label CSCs in vitro. The results showed thatnanorods containing rare-earth based Tb3+ ions which were fabricated by hydrothermal method, present thelength of about 300 - 800 nm and the diameter in range of 40 - 50 nm. The Tb3+ nanoparticals also havehexagonal structure of terbium phosphate monohydrate and green illuminant. Tb3+ nanorods were also furthersurface silica coated and amino-silane functionalized. This nanostructure was successfully combined withmonoclonal antibodies against CD133 which labelled the surface marker of HT-29 human colon cancer cells.As a result, the combination of CD133+TbPO4@Silica-NH2 (functionalized surface) showed strongerluminescence than the CD133+TbPO4 unfunctionalized combination.

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