Active U11 Peptide Luminescent Gold Nanoclusters for Pancreatic Tumor Cell Targeting

International audienceThe imaging of different intercellular regions is attracting growing interest in the fields of biosensing, drug delivery, and gene therapy for cancer treatment. We present the synthesis of luminescent gold nanoclusters (AuNCs), grafted with a PEGylated U 11 peptide derivative, for tumor recognition and their capacity to label the nucleus of pancreatic cancer cells. The short peptide named C 3 E 6 U 11 , used to synthesize and functionalize gold nanoclusters, is composed of a tricysteine sequence with sidechain thiol residues as peptide anchors for the Au nanoclusters together with the recognition peptide domain (U 11). The active targeting red-or blue-emitting AuNCs can label pancreatic cancer cells and localize preferentially in the nucleus. The presence of U 11 at their surface facilitates their penetration into pancreatic cell nuclei. Finally, in vivo imaging experiments in early embryos and freeswimming juvenile zebrafish are also performed to evaluate their biodistribution