Dopamine-Functionalized, Red Carbon Quantum Dots for In Vivo Bioimaging, Cancer Therapeutics, and Neuronal Differentiation.
Pankaj YadavDawson BennerRitu VarshneyKrupa KansaraKrupa ShahLandon DahleAshutosh KumarRakesh RawalSharad GuptaDhiraj BhatiaPublished in: ACS applied bio materials (2024)
One of the crucial requirements of quantum dots for biological applications is their surface modification for very specific and enhanced biological recognition and uptake. Toward this end, we present the green synthesis of bright, red-emitting carbon quantum dots derived from mango leaf extract (mQDs). These mQDs are conjugated electrostatically with dopamine to form mQDs-dopamine (mQDs:DOPA) bioconjugates. Bright-red fluorescence of mQDs was used for bioimaging and uptake in cancerous and noncancerous cell lines, tissues, and in vivo models like zebrafish. mQDs exhibited the highest uptake in brain tissue compared to the heart, kidney, and liver. mQD:DOPA conjugates killed breast cancer cells and increased uptake in epithelial RPE-1 cells and zebrafish. Additionally, mQDs:DOPA promoted neuronal differentiation of SH-SY5Y cells to differentiated neurons. Both mQDs and mQDs:DOPA exhibited the potential for higher collective cell migrations, implicating their future potential as next-generation tools for advanced biological and biomedical applications.
Keyphrases
- quantum dots
- induced apoptosis
- sensitive detection
- energy transfer
- cell cycle arrest
- uric acid
- breast cancer cells
- gene expression
- cerebral ischemia
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- heart failure
- squamous cell carcinoma
- papillary thyroid
- small molecule
- cell death
- prefrontal cortex
- drug delivery
- stem cells
- oxidative stress
- single molecule
- human health
- cell proliferation
- metabolic syndrome
- risk assessment
- fluorescent probe
- mass spectrometry
- brain injury