Engineering bioconjugated gold nanospheres and gold nanorods as label-free plasmon scattering probes for ultrasensitive multiplex dark-field imaging of cancer cells

J Biomed Nanotechnol. 2013 Jun;9(6):985-91. doi: 10.1166/jbn.2013.1603.

Abstract

In this paper, we proposed the use of gold nanoparticles as plasmon scattering probes for dark-field multiplex imaging of live cancer cells. By carefully engineering the surfaces, aqueous dispersions of anti-EGFR antibody-conjugated gold nanospheres and gold nanorods are prepared. We demonstrated the receptor-mediated delivery of antibody conjugated gold nanospheres and gold nanorods into EGFR receptor-positive oral squamous cell carcinoma cell line by using darkfield microscopy technique. Our result suggests that gold nanospheres and gold nanorods formulations could provide up to 7 types of plasmon scattering probes based on their tunability range with a 100 nm spectral separation in absorption bands.

MeSH terms

  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Contrast Media / chemical synthesis
  • Gold*
  • Humans
  • Image Enhancement / methods
  • Light
  • Metal Nanoparticles* / chemistry
  • Microscopy / methods*
  • Molecular Probe Techniques*
  • Nanospheres* / chemistry
  • Neoplasms, Experimental / pathology*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Scattering, Radiation
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Staining and Labeling
  • Surface Plasmon Resonance / methods*

Substances

  • Contrast Media
  • Gold