Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York 10065, United States.
Department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry, and Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States.
Nano Lett. 2021 Aug 11;21(15):6441-6448. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c01093. Epub 2021 Jul 23.
Applications of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in bioimaging and biosensing have been limited by difficulties with isolating single-chirality nanotube preparations with desired functionalities. Unique optical properties, such as multiple narrow near-infrared bands and several modes of signal transduction, including solvatochromism and FRET, are ideal for live cell/organism imaging and sensing applications. However, internanotube FRET has not been investigated in biological contexts. We developed single-chirality subcellular SWCNT imaging probes and investigated their internanotube FRET capabilities in live cells. To functionalize SWCNTs, we replaced the surfactant coating of aqueous two-phase extraction-sorted single-chirality nanotubes with helical polycarbodiimide polymers containing different functionalities. We achieved single-chirality SWCNT targeting of different subcellular structures, including the nucleus, to enable multiplexed imaging. We also targeted purified (6,5) and (7,6) chiralities to the same structures and observed internanotube FRET within these organelles. This work portends the use of single-chirality carbon nanotube optical probes for applications in biomedical research.
单壁碳纳米管 (SWCNTs) 在生物成像和生物传感中的应用受到限制，因为难以获得具有所需功能的单一手性纳米管制备物。独特的光学性质，如多个窄近红外带和几种信号转导模式，包括溶剂变色和 FRET，非常适合活细胞/生物体成像和传感应用。然而，在生物环境中尚未研究过内管 FRET。我们开发了单手性亚细胞 SWCNT 成像探针，并研究了它们在活细胞中的内管 FRET 能力。为了功能化 SWCNTs，我们用含有不同官能团的螺旋聚碳化二亚胺聚合物取代了水相两相间萃取分离的单手性纳米管的表面活性剂涂层。我们实现了不同亚细胞结构的单手性 SWCNT 靶向，包括核，以实现多重成像。我们还将纯化的 (6,5) 和 (7,6) 手性靶向到相同的结构，并观察到这些细胞器内的内管 FRET。这项工作预示着使用单手性碳纳米管光学探针在生物医学研究中的应用。
