Self-illuminating quantum dots, also known as QD-BRET conjugates, are a new class of quantum dots bioconjugates which do not need external light for excitation. Instead, light emission relies on the bioluminescence resonance energy transfer from the attached Renilla luciferase enzyme, which emits light upon the oxidation of its substrate. QD-BRET combines the advantages of the QDs (such as superior brightness & photostability, tunable emission, multiplexing) as well as the high sensitivity of bioluminescence imaging, thus holds the promise for improved deep tissue in vivo imaging. Although studies have demonstrated the superior sensitivity and deep tissue imaging potential, the stability of the QD-BRET conjugates in biological environment needs to be improved for long-term imaging studies such as in vivo cell trafficking. In this study, we seek to improve the stability of QD-BRET probes through polymeric encapsulation with a polyacrylamide gel. Results show that encapsulation caused some activity loss, but significantly improved both the in vitro serum stability and in vivo stability when subcutaneously injected into the animal. Stable QD-BRET probes should further facilitate their applications for both in vitro testing as well as in vivo cell tracking studies.
Keywordsself-illuminating quantum dots; bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET); polymeric encapsulation; molecular imaging; nanotechnology Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have captivated scientists and engineers over the past two decades owing to their fascinating optical and electronic properties, which are not available from either single individual molecules or bulk solids [1]. Compared with organic dyes and fluorescent proteins, semiconductor QDs offer several unique advantages, such as size-and composition-tunable emission from visible to infrared wavelengths, large absorption coefficients across a wide spectral range, and very high levels of brightness and photostability [2]. These properties make them appealing fluorescent probes for bioimaging applications including in situ cell/tissue labeling, live cell imaging and in vivo imaging [3]. However, in vivo imaging using quantum dots still faces challenges such as interferences from tissue autofluorescence [4] and paucity of light available at non-superficial tissue sites [5]. One approach to solve these problems is to use high quality near infrared (NIR) QDs [6], which is an area still under active development. Alternatively, since both problems are related to the