Departamento de Biofísica e Radiobiologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, CB, UFPE, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego, S/N, Recife, PE, 50670-901, Brazil.
Moleculaire Biofysica, Zernike Instituut, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Top Curr Chem (Cham). 2021 Jan 5;379(1):1. doi: 10.1007/s41061-020-00313-7.
Quantum dots (QDs) have attracted considerable attention as fluorescent probes for life sciences. The advantages of using QDs in fluorescence-based studies include high brilliance, a narrow emission band allowing multicolor labeling, a chemically active surface for conjugation, and especially, high photostability. Despite these advantageous features, the size of the QDs prevents their free transport across the plasma membrane, limiting their use for specific labeling of intracellular structures. Over the years, various methods have been evaluated to overcome this issue to explore the full potential of the QDs. Thus, in this review, we focused our attention on physical and biochemical QD delivery methods-electroporation, microinjection, cell-penetrating peptides, molecular coatings, and liposomes-discussing the benefits and drawbacks of each strategy, as well as presenting recent studies in the field. We hope that this review can be a useful reference source for researches that already work or intend to work in this area. Strategies for the intracellular delivery of quantum dots discussed in this review (electroporation, microinjection, cell-penetrating peptides, molecular coatings, and liposomes).
量子点 (QDs) 作为荧光探针在生命科学中引起了广泛关注。在基于荧光的研究中使用 QDs 的优点包括高亮度、允许多色标记的窄发射带、用于缀合的化学活性表面，特别是高光稳定性。尽管具有这些有利的特点，但 QDs 的尺寸阻止了它们自由穿过质膜的运输，限制了它们用于特定标记细胞内结构的用途。多年来，已经评估了各种方法来克服这个问题，以探索 QDs 的全部潜力。因此，在这篇综述中，我们将注意力集中在物理和生化 QD 传递方法上 - 电穿孔、显微注射、细胞穿透肽、分子涂层和脂质体 - 讨论每种策略的优缺点，并介绍该领域的最新研究。我们希望这篇综述可以成为已经在该领域工作或打算在该领域工作的研究人员的有用参考资料。本文讨论了用于细胞内量子点传递的策略（电穿孔、显微注射、细胞穿透肽、分子涂层和脂质体）。
