Fluorescent nanoparticles from starch: facile preparation, tunable luminescence and bioimaging

Meiying Liu; Xiqi Zhang; Bin Yang; Zhan Li; Fengjie Deng; Yang Yang; Xiaoyong Zhang; Yen Wei

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2014.12.047

Fluorescent nanoparticles from starch: facile preparation, tunable luminescence and bioimaging

Carbohydr Polym. 2015 May 5:121:49-55. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2014.12.047. Epub 2015 Jan 3.

Authors

Meiying Liu¹, Xiqi Zhang², Bin Yang², Zhan Li³, Fengjie Deng¹, Yang Yang¹, Xiaoyong Zhang⁴, Yen Wei⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry/Institute of Polymers, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China.
² Department of Chemistry and the Tsinghua Center for Frontier Polymer Research, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Chemistry of Northwestern Plant Resources, Key Laboratory for Natural Medicine of Gansu Province, Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China.
⁴ Department of Chemistry/Institute of Polymers, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China; Department of Chemistry and the Tsinghua Center for Frontier Polymer Research, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Electronic address: xiaoyongzhang1980@gmail.com.
⁵ Department of Chemistry and the Tsinghua Center for Frontier Polymer Research, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Electronic address: weiyen@tsinghua.edu.cn.

PMID: 25659670
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2014.12.047

Abstract

Fluorescent organic nanoparticles (FONs) based on carbohydrate polymers were prepared through one-pot hydrothermal treatment of starch in the presence of polyethyleneimine. These FONs (named as PEI-Starch FONs) were characterized by a series of techniques including UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, fluorescent spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Results showed that the size of PEI-Starch FONs is 10-30 nm. The PEI-Starch FONs exhibited high water dispersibility because of the existence of hydrophilic functional groups on their surface. After excited with different wavelength, PEI-Starch FONs emitted strong and excitation-dependent fluorescence. To evaluate their potential for biomedical applications, biocompatibility and cell uptake behavior of PEI-Starch FONs were further investigated. We demonstrated that PEI-Starch FONs are biocompatible with cells and can be easily internalized by cells within 3h. Taken together, novel FONs have been prepared via a simple and scalable hydrothermal method using starch and polyethyleneimine as precursors. These PEI-Starch FONs showed excellent fluorescence properties, high water dispersibility and good biocompatibility, making them highly potential for various biomedical applications.

Keywords: Biomedical applications; Cell imaging; Fluorescent organic nanoparticles; Polyethyleneimine; Starch.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Fluorescent Dyes / chemistry*
Fluorescent Dyes / pharmacology
Hep G2 Cells
Humans
Microscopy, Confocal
Molecular Imaging / methods*
Nanoparticles / chemistry*
Nanotechnology*
Polyethyleneimine / chemistry
Starch / chemistry*
Temperature

Substances

Fluorescent Dyes
Polyethyleneimine
Starch