Observation of the protein expression level via naked eye: Pt clusters catalyze non-color molecules into brown-colored molecules in cells

Dongfang Xia; Yong Zhang; Chunyu Zhang; Xiuxiu Yao; Yuhua Tang; Fuchao Wang; Xu Han; Hongzong Yin; Chao Xu; Xueyun Gao

doi:10.3389/fchem.2023.1145415

Observation of the protein expression level via naked eye: Pt clusters catalyze non-color molecules into brown-colored molecules in cells

Front Chem. 2023 Feb 13:11:1145415. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2023.1145415. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Dongfang Xia¹, Yong Zhang², Chunyu Zhang³, Xiuxiu Yao², Yuhua Tang², Fuchao Wang¹, Xu Han⁴, Hongzong Yin¹, Chao Xu¹, Xueyun Gao²

Affiliations

¹ College of Chemistry and Material Science, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, Shandong, China.
² Faculty of Environment and Life, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China.
³ Institute of Materia Medica, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, Shandong, China.
⁴ CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety, Multi-disciplinary Research Division, Institute of High Energy Physics and University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China.

Abstract

α _v β ₃ is overexpressed in various tumor cells and plays a key role in tumor genesis, invasion, and metastasis. Therefore, it is of great significance to precisely detect the α _v β ₃ level in cells via a simple method. For this purpose, we have constructed a peptide-coated platinum (Pt) cluster. Due to its bright fluorescence, well-defined Pt atom numbers, and peroxidase-like catalytic activity, this cluster can be used to evaluate α _v β ₃ levels in cells by fluorescence imaging, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and catalytic amplification of visual dyes, respectively. In this report, the expression level of α _v β ₃ in living cells is well-detected by the naked eye under an ordinary light microscope when the Pt cluster binds to αvβ3 in cells and catalyzes non-color 3,3'-diaminobenzidine (DAB) into brown-colored molecules in situ. Moreover, SiHa, HeLa, and 16HBE cell lines with different α _v β ₃ expression levels can be visually distinguished by the peroxidase-like Pt clusters. This research will provide a reliable method for the simple detection of α _v β ₃ levels in cells.

Keywords: Pt cluster; diaminobenzidine; peroxidase-like catalysis; tumor cells; αvβ3.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U2067214), General Project of the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2022MB146).