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An Y, Wang Z, Wu FG. Fluorescent carbon dots for discriminating cell types: a review. Anal Bioanal Chem 2024; 416:3945-3962. [PMID: 38886239 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-024-05328-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2024] [Revised: 04/26/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024]
Abstract
Carbon dots (CDs) are quasi-spherical carbon nanoparticles with excellent photoluminescence, good biocompatibility, favorable photostability, and easily modifiable surfaces. CDs, serving as fluorescent probes, have emerged as an ideal tool for cellular differentiation owing to their outstanding luminescence performance and tunable surface properties. In this review, we summarize the recent research progress with CDs in the differentiation of cancer/normal cells, Gram-positive/Gram-negative bacteria, and live/dead cells, as well as the cellular differences used for differentiation. Additionally, we summarize the preparation methods, raw materials, and properties of the CDs used for cell discrimination. The differentiation mechanisms and the advantages or limitations of the differentiation methods are also introduced. Finally, we propose several research challenges in this field and future research directions that require extensive investigation. It is hoped that this review will help researchers in the design of new CDs as ideal fluorescent probes for realizing diverse cell differentiation applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaolong An
- State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Biomaterials and Devices of Jiangsu Province, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 211189, China
| | - Zihao Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Biomaterials and Devices of Jiangsu Province, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 211189, China
| | - Fu-Gen Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Biomaterials and Devices of Jiangsu Province, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 211189, China.
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Liu Y, Xu Y, Wen Q. Carbon dots for staining bacterial dead cells and distinguishing dead/alive bacteria. Anal Biochem 2024; 687:115432. [PMID: 38113980 DOI: 10.1016/j.ab.2023.115432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
The small molecular dyes such as propidium iodide (PI) always suffer from photo-bleaching and potential toxicity. To tackle the problems, a type of nontoxic carbon dots (CDs) was obtained for dead/alive bacterial distinguishing. This kind of carbon dots has an average size of 1.91 nm and owns carboxyl groups, emerging as excellent candidates for imaging bacterial cells. The negative charges of carboxyl groups lead their avoidance of alive cells while their small size facilitates penetration of dead cells. This kind of nontoxic CDs has effectively differentiated between and alive ones, presenting a highly promising green dye comparing with traditional small molecular dyes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuting Liu
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071, China
| | - Yuanhong Xu
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071, China
| | - Qin Wen
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071, China.
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Lai CM, Xu J, Zhang BC, Li DM, Shen JW, Yu SJ, Shao JW. Three-pronged attacks by hybrid nanoassemblies involving a natural product, carbon dots, and Cu 2+ for synergistic HCC therapy. J Colloid Interface Sci 2023; 650:526-540. [PMID: 37423180 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.06.074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2023] [Revised: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
Tumor microenvironment (TME) stimuli-responsive nanoassemblies are emerging as promising drug delivery systems (DDSs), which acquire controlled release by structural transformation under exogenous stimulation. However, the design of smart stimuli-responsive nanoplatforms integrated with nanomaterials to achieve complete tumor ablation remains challenging. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to develop TME-based stimuli-responsive DDSs to enhance drug-targeted delivery and release at tumor sites. Herein, we proposed an appealing strategy to construct fluorescence-mediated TME stimulus-responsive nanoplatforms for synergistic cancer therapy by assembling photosensitizers (PSs) carbon dots (CDs), chemotherapeutic agent ursolic acid (UA), and copper ions (Cu2+). First, UA nanoparticles (UA NPs) were prepared by self-assembly of UA, then UA NPs were assembled with CDs via hydrogen bonding force to obtain UC NPs. After combining with Cu2+, the resulting particles (named UCCu2+ NPs) exhibited quenched fluorescence and photosensitization due to the aggregation of UC NPs. Upon entering the tumor tissue, the photodynamic therapy (PDT) and the fluorescence function of UCCu2+ were recovered in response to TME stimulation. The introduction of Cu2+ triggered the charge reversal of UCCu2+ NPs, thereby promoting lysosomal escape. Furthermore, Cu2+ resulted in additional chemodynamic therapy (CDT) capacity by reacting with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as well as by consuming glutathione (GSH) in cancer cells through a redox reaction, hence magnifying intracellular oxidative stress and enhancing the therapeutic efficacy due to reactive oxygen species (ROS) therapy. In summary, UCCu2+ NPs provided an unprecedented novel approach for improving the therapeutic efficacy through the three-pronged (chemotherapy, phototherapy, and heat-reinforced CDT) attacks to achieve synergistic therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chun-Mei Lai
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Cancer Metastasis Chemoprevention and Chemotherapy, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350108, China
| | - Jia Xu
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Cancer Metastasis Chemoprevention and Chemotherapy, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350108, China
| | - Bing-Chen Zhang
- Dongguan Institute of Clinical Cancer Research, Dongguan Key Laboratory of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment for Tumors, Affiliated Dongguan Hospital, Southern Medical University, Dongguan, China
| | - Dong-Miao Li
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Cancer Metastasis Chemoprevention and Chemotherapy, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350108, China
| | - Jiang-Wen Shen
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Cancer Metastasis Chemoprevention and Chemotherapy, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350108, China
| | - Shi-Jing Yu
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Cancer Metastasis Chemoprevention and Chemotherapy, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350108, China
| | - Jing-Wei Shao
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Cancer Metastasis Chemoprevention and Chemotherapy, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350108, China.
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Wang L, Gu D, Su Y, Ji D, Yang Y, Chen K, Pan H, Pan W. Easy Synthesis and Characterization of Novel Carbon Dots Using the One-Pot Green Method for Cancer Therapy. Pharmaceutics 2022; 14:2423. [PMID: 36365242 PMCID: PMC9696114 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14112423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2022] [Revised: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
In this study, hyaluronic acid (HA) and carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) were used for the synthesis of novel targeted nanocarrier carbon dots (CDC-H) with photo-luminescence using a one-step hydrothermal method. Doxorubicin (DOX), a common chemotherapeutic agent, was loaded with the CDC-H through electrostatic interactions to form DOX-CDC-H complexes as a targeted antitumor drug delivery system. The synthesized CDC-H show a particle size of approximately 6 nm and a high fluorescence quantum yield of 11.64%. The physical and chemical character properties of CDC-H and DOX-CDC-H complexes were investigated using various techniques. The results show that CDC-H have stable luminescent properties and exhibit excellent water solubility. The in vitro release study showed that DOX-CDC-H exhibited pH-dependent release for 24 h. Confocal laser scanning microscopy was applied to investigate the potential of CDC-H for cell imaging and the cellular uptake of DOX-CDC-H in different cells (NIH-3T3 and 4T1 cells), and the results confirmed the target cell imaging and cellular uptake of DOX-CDC-H by specifically binding the CD44 receptors on the surface of tumor cells. The r MTT results suggest that the DOX-CDC-H complex may induce apoptosis in 4T1 cells, reducing the cytotoxicity of free DOX-induced apoptosis. In vivo antitumor experiments of DOX-CDC-H exhibited enhanced tumor cancer therapy. CDC-H have potential applications in bioimaging and antitumor drug delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lijie Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Shenyang Medical College, Shenyang 110034, China
| | - Donghao Gu
- School of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, China
| | - Yupei Su
- School of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, China
| | - Dongxu Ji
- School of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, China
| | - Yue Yang
- School of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, China
| | - Kai Chen
- School of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, China
| | - Hao Pan
- School of Pharmacy, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110036, China
| | - Weisan Pan
- School of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, China
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