A Highly Photostable Hyperbranched Polyglycerol-Based NIR Fluorescence Nanoplatform for Mitochondria-Specific Cell Imaging

Chunhong Dong, Zhongyun Liu, Junqing Liu, Changzhu Wu, Falko Neumann, Hanjie Wang, Monika Schäfer-Korting, Burkhard Kleuser, Jin Chang, Wenzhong Li, Nan Ma, Rainer Haag

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Considering the critical role of mitochondria in the life and death of cells, non-invasive long-term tracking of mitochondria has attracted considerable interest. However, a high-performance mitochondria-specific labeling probe with high photostability is still lacking. Herein a highly photostable hyperbranched polyglycerol (hPG)-based near-infrared (NIR) quantum dots (QDs) nanoplatform is reported for mitochondria-specific cell imaging. Comprising NIR Zn-Cu-In-S/ZnS QDs as extremely photostable fluorescent labels and alkyl chain (C 12)/triphenylphosphonium (TPP)-functionalized hPG derivatives as protective shell, the tailored QDs@hPG-C 12/TPP nanoprobe with a hydrodynamic diameter of about 65 nm exhibits NIR fluorescence, excellent biocompatibility, good stability, and mitochondria-targeted ability. Cell uptake experiments demonstrate that QDs@hPG-C 12/TPP displays a significantly enhanced uptake in HeLa cells compared to nontargeted QDs@hPG-C 12. Further co-localization study indicates that the probe selectively targets mitochondria. Importantly, compared with commercial deep-red mitochondria dyes, QDs@hPG-C 12/TPP possesses superior photostability under continuous laser irradiation, indicating great potential for long-term mitochondria labeling and tracking. Moreover, drug-loaded QDs@hPG-C 12/TPP display an enhanced tumor cell killing efficacy compared to nontargeted drugs. This work could open the door to the construction of organelle-targeted multifunctional nanoplatforms for precise diagnosis and high-efficient tumor therapy.

Original languageEnglish
JournalAdvanced Healthcare Materials
Volume5
Issue number17
Pages (from-to)2214-2226
ISSN2192-2640
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2. Jun 2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • NIR ZCIS/ZnS QDs
  • hyperbranched polyglycerol
  • mitochondria targeting
  • photostability
  • tumor theranostics

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