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Highlighting Cancer Cells with Halochromic Switches
Sicheng Tang1, Yang Zhang1, Ek Raj Thapaliya1
1Laboratory for Molecular Photonics, Department of Chemistry, University of Miami , 1301 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, Florida 33146-0431, United States.
ACS Sensors
|July 20, 2017
Summary
Researchers developed novel nanoparticles that selectively illuminate cancer cells. These halochromic coumarin-oxazine prefluorophores activate fluorescence in acidic tumor environments, offering high brightness and contrast for targeted imaging.
Area of Science:
- Polymer Chemistry
- Nanotechnology
- Biomedical Imaging
Background:
- Amphiphilic polymers can self-assemble into nanoparticles.
- Halochromic prefluorophores offer pH-dependent fluorescence activation.
- Folate ligands can target specific cell types.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a targeted nanoparticle system for selective cancer cell imaging.
- To engineer activatable fluorescent probes with enhanced brightness and contrast.
- To investigate the role of covalent integration for selective cellular targeting.
Main Methods:
- Covalent conjugation of halochromic coumarin-oxazine prefluorophores and folate ligands to amphiphilic polymers.
- Self-assembly of macromolecular constructs into nanoparticles in aqueous environments.
- Characterization of pH-induced fluorescence activation and cellular uptake studies.
Main Results:
- Nanoparticles exhibit negligible fluorescence at neutral pH, activating intense visible emission at acidic pH.
- Folate-targeted nanoparticles selectively accumulate and fluoresce in acidic intracellular compartments of folate-positive cells.
- Covalent linkage is essential for discriminating between folate-positive and folate-negative cells, unlike noncovalent encapsulation.
Conclusions:
- The designed nanostructured assembly enables selective highlighting of cancer cells with high brightness and contrast.
- pH-induced activation of signaling units minimizes background fluorescence, improving imaging specificity.
- Covalent integration of activatable probes and targeting ligands is crucial for effective cancer cell imaging.
