2 research outputs found
Rapid Intracellular Growth of Gold Nanostructures Assisted by Functionalized Graphene Oxide and Its Application for Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy
Hybridization of metal nanoparticles with graphene oxide
for high
performance surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has attracted
overwhelming attention in recent years. Herein, a one-pot green route
for intracellular synthesis of gold nanostructures assisted by polyÂ(vinylpyrrolidone)
(PVP)-functionalized graphene oxide (GO) was proposed. The hybrids
obtained [GO/PVP/intracellularly grown gold nanoparticles (IGAuNs)]
randomly scattered throughout the cell. Compared with the IGAuNs,
the growth of GO/PVP/IGAuNs was remarkably accelerated, which could
be attributed to the coordination of PVP enriched on GO. GO/PVP/IGAuNs
could serve as excellent SERS probes for ultrasensitive detection
of cellular components of cancer cells located in the cytoplasm, nucleoplasm,
and nucleolus. The random intracellular distribution of GO/PVP/IGAuNs
facilitated the effective Raman characterization of cellular components,
which was confirmed by the uniform distribution of SERS signals in
the Raman image. The SERS signals induced by GO/PVP/IGAuNs could be
collected as early as 15 h, which allowed rapid detection of tumor
cells. In conclusion, this facile and green strategy for fast intracellular
growth of GO/PVP/IGAuNs offered great potential for biomedical applications
Multifunctional Nanoplatform Based on Black Phosphorus Quantum Dots for Bioimaging and Photodynamic/Photothermal Synergistic Cancer Therapy
A multifunctional
nanoplatform based on black phosphorus quantum dots (BPQDs) was developed
for cancer bioimaging and combined photothermal therapy (PTT) and
photodynamic therapy (PDT). BPQDs were functionalized with PEG chains
to achieve improved biocompatibility and physiological stability.
The as-prepared nanoparticles exhibite prominent near-infrared (NIR)
photothermal and red-light-triggered photodynamic properties. The
combined therapeutic application of PEGylated BPQDs were then performed
in vitro and in vivo. The results demonstrate that the combined phototherapy
significantly promote the therapeutic efficacy of cancer treatment
in comparison with PTT or PDT alone. BPQDs could also serve as the
loading platform for fluorescent molecules, allowing reliable imaging
of cancer cells. In addition, the low cytotoxicity and negligible
side effects to main organs were observed in toxicity experiments.
The theranostic characteristics of PEGylated BPQDs provide an uplifting
potential for the future clinical applications