Key Laboratory of Luminescence Analysis and Molecular Sensing (Southwest University), Ministry of Education, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, P. R. China.
Key Laboratory of Luminescent and Real-Time Analytical System (Southwest University), Chongqing Science and Technology Bureau, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, P. R. China.
Anal Chem. 2021 Dec 14;93(49):16466-16473. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c03515. Epub 2021 Dec 3.
Peroxynitrite (ONOO), a highly reactive nitrogen species (RNS) generated mainly in mitochondria, has been identified to be associated with numerous pathophysiological processes, and thus accurate ONOO imaging with superior sensitivity and selectivity is highly desirable. Herein, we prepared a new type of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) with mitochondria-targeting function without the aid of any targeting molecules a simple one-step hydrothermal route. The as-prepared CQDs not only displayed relatively uniform size distribution, few surface defects, high photostability, and excellent biocompatibility but also exhibited good selective fluorescence turn-off response toward ONOO, owing to the oxidation of amino groups on the surface of carbon dots. A great linear correlation between the quenching efficiency and ONOO concentration in the range from 0.15 to 1.0 μM with a detection limit of 38.9 nM is shown. Moreover, the as-prepared CQDs acting as a functional optical probe through a self-targeting mechanism were successfully applied for visualization of endogenous ONOO generated in the mitochondria of live cells, providing great promise for elucidating the complex biological roles of ONOO in related pathological processes.
过氧亚硝酸盐（ONOO^-）是一种主要在线粒体中产生的高反应性氮物种（RNS），已被确定与许多病理生理过程有关，因此，非常需要具有高灵敏度和选择性的准确 ONOO^-成像。在此，我们通过简单的一步水热法制备了一种新型的具有线粒体靶向功能的碳量子点（CQDs），而无需任何靶向分子。所制备的 CQDs 不仅显示出相对均匀的尺寸分布、很少的表面缺陷、高的光稳定性和优异的生物相容性，而且由于碳点表面氨基的氧化，还表现出对 ONOO^-的良好选择性荧光关闭响应。在 0.15 至 1.0 μM 的范围内，淬灭效率与 ONOO^-浓度之间显示出很好的线性相关性，检测限为 38.9 nM。此外，所制备的 CQDs 通过自靶向机制作为一种功能光学探针，成功地用于可视化活细胞线粒体中内源性产生的 ONOO^-，为阐明 ONOO^-在相关病理过程中的复杂生物学作用提供了很大的希望。
