Carrier-free, water dispersible and highly luminescent dye nanoparticles for targeted cell imaging

Abstract

We develop a new strategy of using surface functionalized small molecule organic dye nanoparticles (NPs) for targeted cell imaging. Organic dye (2-tert-butyl-9,10-di(naphthalen-2-yl)anthracene, TBADN) was fabricated into NPs and this was followed by surface modification with an amphipathic surfactant poly(maleic anhydride-alt-1-octadecene)-polyethylene glycol (C18PMH-PEG) through hydrophobic interactions to achieve good water dispersibility and bio-environmental stability. It should be noted that no additional inert materials were added as carriers, thus the dye-loading capacity of the resulting TBADN NPs is obviously higher than those of previously reported carrier-based structures. This would lead to much larger absorption and then much higher brightness. The resulting TBADN NPs possess comparable, if not higher, brightness than CdSe/ZnS quantum dots under the same conditions, with favorable biocompatibility. Significantly, TBADN NPs are readily conjugated with folic acid, and successfully applied in targeted cell imaging. These results show that water dispersible and highly stable organic NPs would be a promising new class of fluorescent probe for bioapplications in cellular imaging and labeling. This strategy may be straightforwardly extended to other organic dyes to achieve water dispersible NPs for cell imaging and drug delivery.

BODIPY-loaded polymer nanoparticles: chemical structure of cargo defines leakage from nanocarrier in living cells

“…[24][25][26] Indeed, owing to high brightness, biodegradability and capacity to encapsulate different cargos, dye-loaded polymer NPs emerged as a powerful alternative to inorganic nanoparticles, such as quantum dots, 27,28 dye-doped silica NPs, 29,30 etc. They have already found a variety of applications, including cellular and in vivo imaging, 31,32 , imaging of cellular uptake, [33][34][35][36] long-term cell tracking, 24,35 cell barcoding, 24 receptor-specific cell targeting, 31,37,38 single-molecule detection 39 and single-particle tracking 40 , biosensing, 41 as well as in vivo studies for visualizing tumors 42,43 , theranostics 44 , photodynamic therapy, 45 etc. On the other hand, dye-loaded polymeric NPs can model the behavior of drug-loaded NPs.…”

Functional Core/Shell Drug Nanoparticles for Highly Effective Synergistic Cancer Therapy

“…This PEGylation resulted in a moderate size increase for GNPs, with the average hydrodynamic diameter of approximately 146 nm for PEGylated GNPs (pGNPs) ( Figure S3b, Supporting Information), which is compatible for EPR effect. [ 32,33 ] The resulting pGNPs were dark blue in color and showed excellent stability in physiological solutions ( Figure S3b-d, Supporting Information). PEGylation can signifi cantly increase the stability of GNPs and help them escape the clearance of reticuloendothelial system (RES)-associated organs with long circulation time.…”

Nanoparticles of Conjugated Molecules and Polymers for Biomedical Applications

“…Another approach to specific targeting with π-conjugated molecules is through functionalization by folic acid (FA), which can bind to the folate receptor (FR), an overexpressed receptor in various types of cancer cells. It was demonstrated that 2-tert-butyl-9,10-di(naphthalen-2-yl)anthracene (TBADN) NPs encapsulated by FA-PEG could efficiently target and be internalized in FR-positive KB cells [107]. This platform was further improved with color tuning ability by co-incorporation of FRET acceptor dyes [108].…”