Debamitra Dutta

TAT conjugated, FITC doped silica nanoparticles for bioimaging applications

Water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsion synthesis of 70 nm size monodisperse TAT (a cell penetrating peptide, CPP) conjugated, FITC (fluorescein isothiocyanate) doped silica nanoparticles (TAT-FSNPs) is reported; human lung adenocarcinoma (A549) cells (in vitro) and rat brain tissue (in vivo) were successfully labeled using TAT-FSNPs.

Fluorescent Nanoparticle Probes for Cancer Imaging

Optical imaging technique has strong potential for sensitive cancer diagnosis, particularly at the early stage of cancer development. This is a sensitive, non-invasive, non-ionizing (clinically safe) and relatively inexpensive technique. Cancer imaging with optical technique however greatly relies upon the use of sensitive and stable optical probes. Unlike the traditional organic fluorescent probes, fluorescent nanoparticle probes such as dye-doped nanoparticles and quantum dots (Qdots) are bright and photostable. Fluorescent nanoparticle probes are shown to be very effective for sensitive cancer imaging with greater success in the cellular level. However, cancer imaging in an in vivo setup has been recently realized. There are several challenges in developing fluorescent nanoparticle probes for in vivo cancer imaging applications. In this review, we will discuss various aspects of nanoparticle design, synthesis, surface functionalization for bioconjugation and cancer cell targeting. A brief overview of in vivo cancer imaging with Qdots will also be presented.

Quantum Dots for Cancer Imaging

During the last century cancer has slowly advanced to become the leading cause of death for patients below the age of 85 in USA in spite of rapid advances in global cancer research toward the understanding of cancer biology in the past several decades. Early cancer diagnosis, in combination with the precise cancer therapies, could eventually save millions of lives. The diagnosis of cancer at the early stage is therefore extremely important and has been an active research area of great interest in current times.