A fluorescent carbon-dots-based mitochondria-targetable nanoprobe for peroxynitrite sensing in living cells

Xiaoxue Wu, Shan Sun, Yuhui Wang*, Jiali Zhu, Kai Jiang, Yumin Leng, Qinghai Shu, Hengwei Lin

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

125 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Mitochondria, the power generators in cell, are a primary organelle of oxygen consumption and a main source of reactive oxygen/nitrogen species (ROS/RNS). Peroxynitrite (ONOO), known as a kind of RNS, has been considered to be a significant factor in many cell-related biological processes, and there is great desire to develop fluorescent probes that can sensitively and selectively detect peroxynitrite in living cells. Herein, we developed a fluorescent carbon-dots (C-dots) based mitochondria-targetable nanoprobe with high sensitivity and selectivity for peroxynitrite sensing in living cells. The C-dots with its surface rich in amino groups was synthesized using o-phenylenediamine as carbon precursor, and it could be covalently conjugated with a mitochondria-targeting moiety, i.e. triphenylphosphonium (TPP). In the presence of peroxynitrite, the fluorescence of the constructed nanoprobe (C-dots-TPP) was efficiently quenched via a mechanism of photoinduced electron transfer (PET). The nanoprobe exhibited relatively high sensitivity (limit of detection: 13.5 nM) and selectivity towards peroxynitrite in aqueous buffer. The performance of the nanoprobe for fluorescence imaging of peroxynitrite in mitochondria was investigated. The results demonstrated that the nanoprobe showed fine mitochondria-targeting ability and imaging contrast towards peroxynitrite in living cells. We anticipate that the proposed nanoprobe will provide a facile tool to explore the role played by peroxynitrite in cytobiology.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)501-507
Number of pages7
JournalBiosensors and Bioelectronics
Volume90
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Apr 2017

Keywords

  • Carbon-dots
  • Fluorescence imaging
  • Mitochondria-targeting
  • Nanoprobe
  • Peroxynitrite

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