Jin Tian, Zhang Longdi, Zhao Yudie, Wang Jianping, Liu Zhengjie, Zhang Ruilong, Geng Junlong, Han Guangmei, Zhang Zhongping
Institute of Physical Science and Information Technology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Information Materials and Intelligent Sensing Laboratory of Anhui Province, Key Laboratory of Structure and Functional Regulation of Hybrid Materials of Ministry of Education, Anhui University Hefei Anhui 230601 China
Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University Hangzhou 310018 China.
RSC Adv. 2024 Oct 31;14(47):34816-34822. doi: 10.1039/d4ra03337j. eCollection 2024 Oct 29.
Long-term labeling of the plasma membrane is crucial for visualizing membrane protein expression and morphological changes but is challenging due to the high fluidity of the plasma membrane, which can lead to probe diffusion or internalization of cells. Here, we precisely control the localization of carbon dots (M-CDs) on the plasma membrane without internalization after long-term observation under fluorescence microscopy. Adjusting the molar ratio of folic acid to -phenylenediamine allowed fine-tuning of the water solubility and fluorescence emission of the carbon dots. Notably, carbon dots synthesized with a folic acid to -phenylenediamine molar ratio of 1 : 10 (referred to as M-CD) exhibit excellent cell membrane targeting, likely due to the combination of suitable water-solubility and FA-FR affinity. The photostability of M-CDs is significantly superior to that of the commercial CellMask Crimson, allowing for specific recognition of folic acid receptor-positive cancer cells and minimal internalization over a period of up to 9 hours. This photostable, membrane-targeting M-CD provides a powerful tool for accurately, real-time, and non-invasively assessing the expression of folic acid receptors on cancer cell membranes and tumor metastasis.
对质膜进行长期标记对于可视化膜蛋白表达和形态变化至关重要，但由于质膜的高流动性，这一过程具有挑战性，因为高流动性会导致探针扩散或细胞内化。在此，我们在荧光显微镜下长期观察后，精确控制了碳点（M-CDs）在质膜上的定位，且未发生内化。通过调整叶酸与对苯二胺的摩尔比，可以微调碳点的水溶性和荧光发射。值得注意的是，叶酸与对苯二胺摩尔比为1:10合成的碳点（称为M-CD）表现出优异的细胞膜靶向性，这可能是由于其合适的水溶性和FA-FR亲和力共同作用的结果。M-CDs的光稳定性明显优于市售的CellMask Crimson，能够特异性识别叶酸受体阳性癌细胞，并且在长达9小时的时间内内化极少。这种光稳定的、靶向膜的M-CD为准确、实时和非侵入性评估癌细胞膜上叶酸受体的表达及肿瘤转移提供了一个强大的工具。
