Uptake dynamics of graphene quantum dots into primary human blood cells following in vitro exposure

Fasbender, Stefan; Allani, Sonja; Wimmenauer, Christian; Cadeddu, Ron-Patrick; Raba, Katharina; Fischer, Johannes C.; Bulat, Bekir; Luysberg, M.; Seidel, Claus A. M.; Heinzel, T.; Haas, Rainer

doi:10.1039/c6ra27829a

Cited by 33 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Bioimaging is an important methodology that is used in both research and clinical settings, allowing for observation of biological processes such as targeted delivery, cellular uptake, and biodistribution of therapeutics in an isolated, detailed manner using various portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. [10,57,101] In cancer diagnostics, the role of imaging is especially important as sensitive imaging allows early detection of tumors, as well as identification of metastasis and the resurgence of cancer. The intrinsic PL of GQDs allows them to be used as optical probes in fluorescence imaging, with no further conjugation of fluorescent dyes, as is needed with other nanoparticle platforms.…”

Section: Bioimagingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Graphene Quantum Dots and Their Applications in Bioimaging, Biosensing, and Therapy

2019

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the bandgap of graphene may be tunably increased by decreasing the size of the graphene fragment. These graphene particles have been dubbed graphene quantum dots (GQDs), and this tunable electronic structure has been exploited for applications in electronics, energy harvesting, and medicine. [2] One of the most utilized properties of GQDs is their photoluminescence (PL), which describes the emission of light by graphene caused by the excitation of electrons within a GQD upon the absorption of incident photons and the subsequent emission of photons when those excited electrons relax back to a lower energy level. Through various studies, it has been shown that the PL excitation and emission wavelengths can be altered by controlling the size of GQDs, changing the surface properties, or through the introduction of dopants, such as nitrogen or boron, into the carbon lattice. [3][4][5] The tunable PL of GQDs makes them an effective platform for application in bioimaging and biosensing systems since the optimal wavelengths of light dictated by the situation at hand may be harnessed by synthesizing GQDs of appropriate size and/or dopant concentration to elicit the desired PL properties. In addition to dopants within the lattice, oxygen-rich functional groups such as hydroxyl and carboxyl groups exist on the edge of GQDs. These functional groups are a result of oxidation and self-passivation at the surface of GQDs during synthesis, and these polar constituents confer excellent aqueous solubility onto the GQDs, which is beneficial for biological applications. [6] Furthermore, functional groups allow for the facile surface conjugation of useful moieties such as tumor-targeting ligands or chemotherapeutics for use in anticancer drug delivery systems. [7][8][9][10] In many other nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems, a solid core is stabilized by coating the core with polymers, which restricts the number of sites available for chemotherapeutic conjugation on the surface of the nanoparticle. Conversely, GQDs have a large surface area to volume ratio, owing to their planar structure; this allows for higher drug loading and more efficient delivery of chemotherapeutics. Furthermore, π-orbitals that are present throughout the sp 2 -hybridized GQD lattice can bind chemotherapeutics that have an aromatic ring in their structure through π-stacking, without covalent conjugation, further enhancing their ability for drug delivery. [8,11,12] The potential for GQDs to make a substantial impact in medicine has been demonstrated by a myriad of recent developments. Many studies have been aimed at developing novel Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) are carbon-based, nanoscale particles that exhibit excellent chemical, physical, and biological properties that allow them to excel in a wide range of applications in nanomedicine. The unique electronic structure of GQDs confers functional attributes onto these nanomaterials such as strong and tunable photoluminescence for use in fluorescence bioimaging and biosensing, a high loading capacity of aroma...

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Section: Bioimagingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Graphene Quantum Dots and Their Applications in Bioimaging, Biosensing, and Therapy

2019

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“…GQDs' toxicity studies reported promising results. In a recent work, cell viability of the total population of mononuclear blood cells was investigated after incubation with GQDs, and cytotoxicity was not reported below 500 µg/mL [61]. Tomić and coworkers studied the suppression of the inflammatory response of T cells through the induction of autophagy on dendritic cells by GQDs [72].…”

Section: Biocompatibility and Cytotoxicity Of Quantum Dots (Qds) And mentioning

confidence: 99%

Unravelling the Potential of Graphene Quantum Dots in Biomedicine and Neuroscience

Perini

Palmieri

Ciasca

et al. 2020

IJMS

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Quantum dots (QDs) are semiconducting nanoparticles that have been gaining ground in various applications, including the biomedical field, thanks to their unique optical properties. Recently, graphene quantum dots (GQDs) have earned attention in biomedicine and nanomedicine, thanks to their higher biocompatibility and low cytotoxicity compared to other QDs. GQDs share the optical properties of QD and have proven ability to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). For this reason, GQDs are now being employed to deepen our knowledge in neuroscience diagnostics and therapeutics. Their size and surface chemistry that ease the loading of chemotherapeutic drugs, makes them ideal drug delivery systems through the bloodstream, across the BBB, up to the brain. GQDs-based neuroimaging techniques and theranostic applications, such as photothermal and photodynamic therapy alone or in combination with chemotherapy, have been designed. In this review, optical properties and biocompatibility of GQDs will be described. Then, the ability of GQDs to overtake the BBB and reach the brain will be discussed. At last, applications of GQDs in bioimaging, photophysical therapies and drug delivery to the central nervous system will be considered, unraveling their potential in the neuroscientific field.

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“…Because of their large surface to mass ratio, they are a fluorescent nanomaterial with a broad spectrum of applications in the field of organic photovoltaic devices, catalysis, sensors and biomedicine 10 . In particular, the field of biomedicine offers many opportunities as GQDs enter the cytoplasm not only of human cell lines, but also of primary human blood cells, without significant effects on cell viability 11–15 . Therefore, GQDs have been used in research related to long term and deep tissue imaging, cancer diagnostics, intracellular sensing and drug delivery 16–21 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Low Toxicity of Graphene Quantum Dots is Reflected by Marginal Gene Expression Changes of Primary Human Hematopoietic Stem Cells

Fasbender

Zimmermann

Cadeddu

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

Self Cite

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Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) are a promising next generation nanomaterial with manifold biomedical applications. For real world applications, comprehensive studies on their influence on the functionality of primary human cells are mandatory. Here, we report the effects of GQDs on the transcriptome of CD34 + hematopoietic stem cells after an incubation time of 36 hours. Of the 20 800 recorded gene expressions, only one, namely the selenoprotein W, 1, is changed by the GQDs in direct comparison to CD34 + hematopoietic stem cells cultivated without GQDs. Only a meta analysis reveals that the expression of 1171 genes is weakly affected, taking into account the more prominent changes just by the cell culture. Eight corresponding, weakly affected signaling pathways are identified, which include, but are not limited to, the triggering of apoptosis. These results suggest that GQDs with sizes in the range of a few nanometers hardly influence the CD34 + cells on the transcriptome level after 36 h of incubation, thereby demonstrating their high usability for in vivo studies, such as fluorescence labeling or delivery protocols, without strong effects on the functional status of the cells.

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Uptake dynamics of graphene quantum dots into primary human blood cells following in vitro exposure

Cited by 33 publications

References 40 publications

Graphene Quantum Dots and Their Applications in Bioimaging, Biosensing, and Therapy

Graphene Quantum Dots and Their Applications in Bioimaging, Biosensing, and Therapy

Unravelling the Potential of Graphene Quantum Dots in Biomedicine and Neuroscience

The Low Toxicity of Graphene Quantum Dots is Reflected by Marginal Gene Expression Changes of Primary Human Hematopoietic Stem Cells

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