Two-Photon Fluorescent Molybdenum Disulfide Dots for Targeted Prostate Cancer Imaging in the Biological II Window

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) quantum dots (QDs) derived from this two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenide are emerging zero-dimensional materials that possess very good optical properties. Bioimaging using light in the biological II window (950-1350 nm) is a next-generation approach that will allow clinicians to achieve deeper tissue imaging with better image contrast and reduced phototoxicity and photobleaching. This article reports the development of a water-soluble, zero-dimensional antibody-conjugated transition metal dichalcogenide MoS₂ QD-based two-photon luminescence (TPL) probe for the targeted bioimaging of cancer cells in the biological II window. The data indicates that MoS₂ QDs exhibit an extremely high two-photon absorption cross-section (σ = 58960 GM) and two-photon brightness (4.7 × 10³ GM) because of the quantum confinement and edge effects. Experimental data show that anti-PSMA antibody-attached MoS₂ QDs can be used for selective two-photon imaging of live prostate cancer cells using 1064 nm light because of the high two-photon brightness, very good photostability, and very good biocompatibility of these MoS₂ QDs. The data demonstrate that the bioconjugated MoS₂ QDs can distinguish targeted and nontargeted cells. This study illuminates the high two-photon brightness mechanism of MoS₂ QDs and provides a zero-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide-based selective TPL agent for high-efficiency live cell imaging.