Tri-mode Responses to Reactive Oxygen Species In Vivo by Chiral Vanadium-Based Nanoparticles

Area of Science:

• Nanomaterials Science
• Biomedical Sensing
• Chemical Biology

Background:

• Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are crucial indicators of physiological redox balance and early disease markers, including cancer.
• Accurate and sensitive monitoring of ROS is essential for timely diagnosis and therapeutic intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel chiral nanoprobe for highly sensitive detection of reactive oxygen species (ROS).
• To investigate the potential of chiral nanomaterials for advanced biosensing applications.

Main Methods:

• Preparation of chiral vanadium trioxide/vanadium nitride (V₂O₃/VN) nanoparticles using a ligand-induced chirality strategy.
• Modification of nanoparticles with cyanine 3 (Cy3) organic dye for enhanced signal transduction.
• Characterization of nanoparticle properties, including a high g-factor (up to 0.12 at 512 nm), indicating superior sensitivity.

Main Results:

• The chiral V₂O₃/VN nanoprobe demonstrated a record high g-factor among chiral ceramic nanomaterials, correlating with enhanced sensing sensitivity.
• ROS detection via redox reactions involving V³⁺ led to changes in circular dichroism and absorbance, with fluorescence restoration of Cy3.
• Achieved low limits of detection for ROS in living cells (0.0045 nmol/10⁶ cells for circular dichroic and 0.018 nmol/10⁶ cells for fluorescence signals).
• Successful in vivo monitoring of ROS levels using the fluorescence capability of the nanoprobe.

Conclusions:

• The developed chiral V₂O₃/VN nanoprobe offers an innovative and highly sensitive platform for ROS detection.
• This strategy highlights the potential of chiral nanomaterials in advancing biosensing technologies for early disease diagnosis.
• The findings are expected to drive broader applications of chiral nanomaterials in biomedical sensing and diagnostics.