Hyaluronic acid conjugated nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots for identification of human breast cancer cells.
Junting TaoShixuan FengBing LiuJiaqi PanChaorong LiYingying ZhengPublished in: Biomedical materials (Bristol, England) (2021)
Accurate distinguish of cancer cells through fluorescence plays an important role in cancer diagnosis. Here we synthesized a blue fluorescent nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (N-GQDs) from citric acid and diethylamine via one-step hydrothermal synthesis method which was simple and quick to avoid by-products, and highlighted the binding sites to achieve precise combination. Due to the nitrogen element doping, amide II bond was amply obtained and abundant binding sites were provided for hyaluronic acid (HA) conjugation. N-GQDs solution with different pH value was then conjugated to HA via an amide bond for the recognition of human breast cancer cells (MCF-7 cells), and the formation of amide bond was more favorable under alkaline conditions. HA conjugated N-GQDs (HA-N-GQDs) were combined with CD44 which was over expressed on the surface of MCF-7 cells, resulting in MCF-7 cells performing stronger fluorescence. HA-N-GQDs showed high fluorescence, low toxicity, and good cytocompatibility, which held it play a role in fluorescence imaging for accurate identification of cancer cells.
Keyphrases
- breast cancer cells
- hyaluronic acid
- quantum dots
- induced apoptosis
- cell cycle arrest
- photodynamic therapy
- fluorescence imaging
- endothelial cells
- energy transfer
- single molecule
- oxidative stress
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- signaling pathway
- squamous cell carcinoma
- risk assessment
- induced pluripotent stem cells
- young adults
- mass spectrometry
- label free