Advancing glioblastoma imaging: Exploring the potential of organic fluorophore-based red emissive carbon dots

Justin B Domena; Braulio C L B Ferreira; Emel K Cilingir; Yiqun Zhou; Jiuyan Chen; Qiaxian R Johnson; Bhanu P S Chauhan; M Bartoli; A Tagliaferro; Steven Vanni; Regina M Graham; Roger M Leblanc

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.07.107

Advancing glioblastoma imaging: Exploring the potential of organic fluorophore-based red emissive carbon dots

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Nov 15;650(Pt B):1619-1637. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.07.107. Epub 2023 Jul 21.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA.
² Department of Chemistry, William Paterson University of New Jersey, 300 Pompton Rd, Wayne, NJ 07470, USA.
³ Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, Italy.
⁴ Department of Neurological Surgery, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA; HCA Florida University Hospital, 3476 S University Dr, Davie, FL 33328, USA; Department of Medicine, Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Davie, USA.
⁵ Department of Neurological Surgery, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA; Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1475 NW 12th Ave, Miami, FL 33136, USA; Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33328, USA.
⁶ Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA. Electronic address: rml@miami.edu.

PMID: 37494859
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.07.107

Abstract

Over time, the interest in developing stable photosensitizers (PS) which both absorb and emit light in the red region (650 and 950 nm) has gained noticeable interest. Recently, carbon dots (CDs) have become the material of focus to act as a PS due to their high extinction coefficient, low cytotoxicity, and both high photo and thermal stability. In this work, a Federal and Drug Association (FDA) approved Near Infra-Red (NIR) organic fluorophore used for photo-imaging, indocyanine green (ICG), has been explored as a precursor to develop water-soluble red emissive CDs which possess red emission at 697 nm. Furthermore, our material was found to yield favorable red-imaging capabilities of glioblastoma stem-like cells (GSCs) meanwhile boasting low toxicity. Additionally with post modifications, our CDs have been found to have selectivity towards tumors over healthy tissue as well as crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in zebrafish models.

Keywords: Blood brain barrier; Carbon dots; Cell imaging; Glioblastoma; Red emission.

MeSH terms

Animals
Carbon
Fluorescent Dyes
Glioblastoma* / diagnostic imaging
Quantum Dots*
Zebrafish

Substances

Carbon
Fluorescent Dyes