Visual Monitoring of Nucleic Acid Dynamic Structures during Cellular Ferroptosis Using Rationally Designed Carbon Dots with Robust Anti-Interference Ability to Reactive Oxygen Species

Abstract

Ferroptosis triggered by an iron-dependent accumulation of lipid reactive oxygen species (ROS) has drawn widespread attention. Directly visualizing the dynamic structures of nucleic acids during the ferroptosis of cells is of great importance considering their vital roles in numerous biological functions. However, direct imaging remains challenging, largely due to the extremely high concentrations of ROS generated during ferroptosis, which can affect the imaging of nucleic acid targeted fluorescent probes. To overcome this challenge, nucleic acid-responsive carbon dots (CDs) providing favorable optical properties together with high chemical stability were synthesized. Furthermore, the CDs penetrated the cell membrane quickly and accumulated in the nuclei of cells. The robust anti-interference ability to ROS allows the CDs to visualize the dynamic structures of nucleic acids during ferroptosis. Moreover, the CDs were successfully employed in the imaging of nucleic acids during cell division. The nuclei-targeting CDs show great potential as a powerful tool for imaging nuclei in ferroptosis-related biological and clinical research.

Carbonized Polymer Dots with Aggregation-Induced Effect for Type I Photodynamic Therapy

“…The TEM (HRTEM), AFM, XRD, XPS, and TGA characterizations were done using the apparatus described in ref . The FTIR, UV–vis absorption, PL, PLQY, and PL lifetime tests of YCPDs used the equipment as described previously (ref ). EPR spectra were measured on a Bruker E550 spectrometer.…”

“…In the field of CPDs, citric acid (CA) and urea have been widely acknowledged as classical preparation systems , while urea derivatives as precursors are rarely reported. The urea derivatives currently used are semicarbazide, hydroxyurea, and benzoylurea, , which provide a great possibility for the biological functionalization of CPDs. However, the study of disubstituted urea as a precursor has not been reported.…”

Ferroptosis Detection: From Approaches to Applications

“…[49] Huang et al developed nucleic acid-responsive carbon dots (CDs) for monitoring the dynamic structures of nucleic acids during ferroptosis (Figure 2c). [50] These CDs are composed of two precursors, m-phenylenediamine (m-PD) and aminourea hydrochloride (Figure 2d). The former not only provides a green emission wavelength but also contains multiple nitro- gen atoms that could form hydrogen bonds with nucleic acids, endowing CDs with nuclei-targeting ability.…”

“…e) Confocal images of the nuclei of CDs‐incubated cells during ferroptosis. Reprinted with permission from [50]. Copyright 2020 American Chemical Society.…”

“…Viscosity MN-V [48] Viscosity-sensitive Twisted internal charge transfer 670/795 0.107 Live cells Nucleic acid CDs [50] Nucleic acid-responsive -458/525 0.45 Live cells…”