CdSe and ZnSe quantum dots capped with PEA for screening C-reactive protein in human serum

Photoluminescence-based immunochemical methods for determination of C-reactive protein and procalcitonin

Modern, sensitive, rapid, and selective analytical methods for the detection of inflammatory markers are a crucial tool for the assessment of inflammation state, efficacy of medical intervention, and the prediction of future diseases. Their development requires understanding of current state for point-of-care testing of inflammatory markers and identification of their crucial drawbacks. This review summarizes the progress in the application of luminescent labels for immunoassays. The luminescent labels became more popular in the latest decade due to their high sensitivity, selectivity, and robustness. This review presents a constructive analysis of different luminescent labels such as fluorescent organic dyes, quantum dots, long-lived emissive nanoparticles, and up-converting nanocrystals, as well as a range of the strategies for inflammatory markers determination. The advantages and disadvantages of all classes of luminescent labels are demonstrated, and the strategies of labels modification for their improvement are discussed. The current approaches for the creation of luminescent probes and robust assays are also highlighted.

The Biological Activity Research of the Nano-Drugs Based on 5-Fluorouracil-Modified Quantum Dots

PURPOSE

Over the past decades, quantum dots (QDs) have shown the broad application in diverse fields, especially in intracellular probing and drug delivery, due to their high fluorescence intensity, long fluorescence lifetime, strong light-resistant bleaching ability, and strong light stability. Therefore, we explore a kind of therapeutic potential against cancer with fluorescent imaging.

METHODS

In the current study, a new type of QDs (QDs@L-Cys-TAEA-5-FUA) capped with L-cysteine (L-Cys) and tris(2-aminoethyl)amine (TAEA) ligands, and conjugated with 5-fluorouracil-1-acetic acid (5-FUA) has been synthesized. Ligands were characterized by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and H-nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy. The modified QDs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet and visible spectrophotometry (UV-Vis), and fluorescence microscopy. And the biological activity of modified QDs was explored by using MTT assay with HeLa, SMMC-7721 HepG2, and QSG-7701 cells. The fluorescence imaging of modified QDs was obtained by fluorescence microscope.

RESULTS

The modified QDs are of controllable sizes in the range of 4-5 nm and they possess strong optical emission properties. UV-Vis and fluorescence spectra demonstrated that the L-Cys-TAEA-5-FUA was successfully incorporated into QD nanoparticles. The MTT results demonstrated that L-Cys-TAEA-5-FUA modified QDs could efficiently inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells as compared to the normal cells, illustrating their antitumor efficacy. The mechanistic studies revealed that the effective internalization of modified QDs inside cancer cells could inhibit their proliferation, through excessive production of intracellular reactive oxygen species, leading to apoptosis process.

CONCLUSION

The present study suggests that modified QDs can enter cells efficiently and could be employed as therapeutic agents for the treatment of various types of cancers with fluorescent imaging.

Current analytical strategies for C-reactive protein quantification in blood

The measurement of serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels has been given particular interest as a marker of inflammation associated with cardiovascular diseases. CRP belongs to the pentraxin family of proteins and the routine clinical analysis of CRP in blood samples is used as an important factor in primary prevention programmes together with causative and predisposing factors. This review focuses on the most representative methodologies and strategies for CRP detection and quantification that have been recently proposed, as well as reviewing those that are currently being developed for the specific, sensitive, inexpensive and high-throughput blood analysis of this protein.