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Updated: Feb 13, 2026

Real-time Imaging of Axonal Transport of Quantum Dot-labeled BDNF in Primary Neurons
Published on: September 15, 2014
Near-infrared quantum dots labelled with a tumor selective tetrabranched peptide for in vivo imaging
Jlenia Brunetti1, Giulia Riolo2, Mariangela Gentile3
1Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, 53100, Siena, Italy. jlenia.brunetti@unisi.it.
Background:
Near-infrared quantum dots (NIR QDs) are a new class of fluorescent labels with excellent bioimaging features, such as high fluorescence intensity, good fluorescence stability, sufficient electron density, and strong tissue-penetrating ability. For all such features, NIR QDs have great potential for early cancer diagnosis, in vivo tumor imaging and high resolution electron microscopy studies on cancer cells.
Results:
In the present study we constructed NIR QDs functionalized with the NT4 cancer-selective tetrabranched peptides (NT4-QDs). We observed specific uptake of NT4-QDs in human cancer cells in in vitro experiments and a much higher selective accumulation and retention of targeted QDs at the tumor site, compared to not targeted QDs, in a colon cancer mouse model.
Conclusions:
NIR QDs labelled with the tetrabranched NT4 peptide have very promising performance for selective addressing of tumor cells in vitro and in vivo, proving rising features of NT4-QDs as theranostics.
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