TY - JOUR
T1 - PEGylated fluorescent carbon nanoparticles for noninvasive heart imaging
AU - Ruan, Shaobo
AU - Wan, Jingyu
AU - Fu, Yao
AU - Han, Ke
AU - Li, Xiang
AU - Chen, Jiantao
AU - Zhang, Qianyu
AU - Shen, Shun
AU - He, Qin
AU - Gao, Huile
PY - 2014/6/18
Y1 - 2014/6/18
N2 - Fluorescent carbon nanoparticles (CNP) have gained much attention due to their unique fluorescent properties and safety. In this study, we evaluated the potential application of CNP and PEGylated CNP (PEG-CNP) in noninvasive heart imaging. CNP was prepared by hydrothermal treatment of silk. The particle size and zeta potential of CNP were 121.8 nm and -3.7 mV, respectively, which did not change significantly after PEGylation with a PEG density of 4.43 ± 0.02 μg/mg CNP. FTIR and XPS showed that CNP possessed several functional groups, such as -COOH, -OH, and NH2, which could be utilized for PEGylation and other modifications. CNP displayed strong blue fluorescence after excitation at the wavelength of 375 nm. PEG-CNP displayed better serum stability compared to CNP. The hemolysis rate of PEG-CNP was lower than that of CNP, suggesting PEGylation could enhance the hemocompatibility of CNP. Both CNP and PEG-CNP showed higher uptake capacity by H9c2 cells (a heart cell line) than that by human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), suggesting the particles tend to be selectively taken up by heart cells. Both CNP and PEG-CNP were proven to be taken up through endosome-mediated pathway, and the colocalization of nanoparticles with mitochondria was also observed. In vivo results demonstrated that CNP could target heart with much higher fluorescent intensity than liver and spleen. Although PEGylation could decrease the distribution in heart, it remained high for PEG-CNP. In conclusion, CNP could be used for heart imaging, and moreover, PEGylation could improve the stability and biocompatibility of CNP.
AB - Fluorescent carbon nanoparticles (CNP) have gained much attention due to their unique fluorescent properties and safety. In this study, we evaluated the potential application of CNP and PEGylated CNP (PEG-CNP) in noninvasive heart imaging. CNP was prepared by hydrothermal treatment of silk. The particle size and zeta potential of CNP were 121.8 nm and -3.7 mV, respectively, which did not change significantly after PEGylation with a PEG density of 4.43 ± 0.02 μg/mg CNP. FTIR and XPS showed that CNP possessed several functional groups, such as -COOH, -OH, and NH2, which could be utilized for PEGylation and other modifications. CNP displayed strong blue fluorescence after excitation at the wavelength of 375 nm. PEG-CNP displayed better serum stability compared to CNP. The hemolysis rate of PEG-CNP was lower than that of CNP, suggesting PEGylation could enhance the hemocompatibility of CNP. Both CNP and PEG-CNP showed higher uptake capacity by H9c2 cells (a heart cell line) than that by human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), suggesting the particles tend to be selectively taken up by heart cells. Both CNP and PEG-CNP were proven to be taken up through endosome-mediated pathway, and the colocalization of nanoparticles with mitochondria was also observed. In vivo results demonstrated that CNP could target heart with much higher fluorescent intensity than liver and spleen. Although PEGylation could decrease the distribution in heart, it remained high for PEG-CNP. In conclusion, CNP could be used for heart imaging, and moreover, PEGylation could improve the stability and biocompatibility of CNP.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84902662614&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/bc5001627
DO - 10.1021/bc5001627
M3 - Article
C2 - 24852402
AN - SCOPUS:84902662614
SN - 1043-1802
VL - 25
SP - 1061
EP - 1068
JO - Bioconjugate Chemistry
JF - Bioconjugate Chemistry
IS - 6
ER -