Self-Targeting Fluorescent Carbon Dots for Diagnosis of Brain Cancer Cells

Min Zheng, Shaobo Ruan, Shi Liu, Tingting Sun, Dan Qu, Haifeng Zhao, Zhigang Xie, Huile Gao*, Xiabin Jing, Zaicheng Sun

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

462 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A new type of carbon dots (CD-Asp) with targeting function toward brain cancer glioma was synthesized via a straightforward pyrolysis route by using d-glucose and l-aspartic acid as starting materials. The as-prepared CD-Asp exhibits not only excellent biocompatibility and tunable full-color emission, but also significant capability of targeting C6 glioma cells without the aid of any extra targeting molecules. In vivo fluorescence images showed high-contrast biodistribution of CD-Asp 15 min after tail vein injection. A much stronger fluorescent signal was detected in the glioma site than that in normal brain, indicating their ability to freely penetrate the blood-brain barrier and precisely targeting glioma tissue. However, its counterparts, the CDs synthesized from d-glucose (CD-G), l-asparic acid (CD-A), or d-glucose and l-glutamic acid (CD-Glu) have no or low selectivity for glioma. Therefore, CD-Asp could act as a fluorescence imaging and targeting agent for noninvasive glioma diagnosis. This work highlights the potential application of CDs for constructing an intelligent nanomedicine with integration of diagnostic, targeting, and therapeutic functions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)11455-11461
Number of pages7
JournalACS Nano
Volume9
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 24 Nov 2015
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • brain cancer glioma
  • carbon dots
  • diagnosis
  • full-color emission
  • targeted imaging

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Self-Targeting Fluorescent Carbon Dots for Diagnosis of Brain Cancer Cells'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this