Patent Application
20100112716
Not applicable
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to markers. More particularly, the present invention relates to luminescent markers.
2. General Background of the Invention
Luminescent semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have been intensely studied due to their unique optical properties, including sharp emission spectra with full width at half-maximum (fwhm) as narrow as 25 nm, high photostability, and tunable size dependent emission peaks.1-5 Incorporation of luminescent semiconductor quantum dots into nanospheres has been explored as a way to prepare bright biological labels and functional composite luminescent materials. For example, Barbera-Guillem successfully encapsulated luminescent CdSe QDs and other metal oxide nanocrystals in nanometric liposomes for potential biological labeling applications.6 Rogach et al. encapsulated CdSe QDs in 40-80 nm silica nanospheres and proposed to use them as building blocks to form 3D colloid crystal microstructures.7 Moffitt et al. encapsulated CdS QDs in water-soluble block copolymers to form large compound micelles (LCM) that averaged 65 nm in diameter.8
Electrostatic interactions of polyelectrolytes have been widely applied in layer-by-layer procedures to prepare thin films since Decher et al. introduced this unique technique in the early 1990s.10-11 Using this technique, Anai et al. successfully incorporated the highly charged protein avidin into a thin film and used it to immobilize biotinylated molecules.12 Caruso et al. immobilized enzymes on the surface of polystyrene microspheres to fabricate micrometric biocatalyst carriers using the same layer-by-layer approach.13 Goldman et al. prepared bioinorganic conjugates by using negatively charged CdSe—ZnS QDs and positively charged avidin. They used these new particles for luminescence immunoassay applications.14 In their study, the concentrations of QDs and avidin were limited to minimize aggregation due to electrostatic attractions.
The following U.S. patents are incorporated herein by reference:
The following articles (and all references mentioned herein) are incorporated herein by reference:
The present invention includes a novel method to assemble highly luminescent semiconductor quantum dots (preferably CdSe—ZnS) and magnetic nanoparticles (preferably of iron oxide) into nanoassemblies. The inventors believe that this is the first time that someone has integrated luminescent semiconductor QDs and magnetic nanoparticles in the same nanoassemblies. Existing nanoparticles used in diagnostic applications of which the inventors are aware are either magnetic or luminescent but not both.
The present invention includes a novel technique to prepare luminescent and magnetic nanoassemblies averaging around 200 nm in diameter. The nanoassemblies contain hydrophilic or hydrophobic semiconductor (preferably CdSe—ZnS) quantum dots and magnetic nanoparticles of preferably iron oxide.
Hydrophilic quantum dots and magnetic particles can be encapsulated in glyconanospheres. The underlying principle of this technique is electrostatic interactions between positively charged polylysine molecules and negatively charged particles and carboxymethyldextran molecules. In addition to electrostatic attraction between the particles and the molecules, covalent amide bonds were introduced to cross-link the particles with the polysaccharide matrix to further stabilize the novel nanoassemblies.
Hydrophobic particles can be assembled in silica nanospheres using a microemulsion synthetic method.
The emission properties of the quantum dots-containing nanoassemblies were similar to the emission properties of individual quantum dots despite of the presence of magnetic nanoparticles in the assemblies, although some decrease in emission quantum yield was noted. Assembling hundreds of quantum dots in single nanoassemblies created bright and photostable nanoassemblies that could be easily observed using conventional fluorescence microscopy instrumentation. The encapsulation of magnetic nanoparticles in the nanoassemblies enabled their manipulation and separation from solution using an external magnetic field. The novel nanoassemblies could be used in biological applications requiring magnetic separation and highly sensitive fluorescence detection.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,548,171 discloses polymer microspheres. The particles of the present invention are nanometric, meaning 10-100 times smaller.
The method to load nanocrystals into the microspheres of U.S. Pat. No. 6,548,171 is by swelling and shrinking by changing solvents. The microspheres swell in one solvent which enable nanocrystals to diffuse in, then shrink in water to lock the nanocrystals in. The main problem with this approach is stability. Nanocrystals leak out of the particles when exposed to uncontrolled environments of temperature and acidity.
The method to entrap nanocrystals in the smaller particles of the present invention is different. When trapped in the glyconanospheres the nanocrystals are assembled into covalently bonded structures. They are prepared in one step, unlike the microspheres that are first prepared then loaded with nanocrystals. When trapped in silica nanopheres the nanocrystals are precursors in the microemulsion-based method. Again, the nanocrystals are covalently attached to the formed assemblies. As a result of the covalent attachment the particles of the present invention exhibit higher stability than the microspheres in which the nanocrystals are only encapsulated in through weaker physical interactions.
Since the method used to prepare the polymer microspheres in U.S. Pat. No. 6,548,171 involves swelling and shrinking it appears that the method works only with polymer materials that could swell and shrink readily when placed in different solvents. The glyconanospheres and the silica spheres of the present invention do not swell and shrink in different solvents.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,548,171 mentions that the fluorescence microspheres could have a magnetic core. There are commercially available magnetic polystyrene microspheres that could be loaded with fluorescent nanocrystals to form magnetic and luminescent microspheres. Again, these particles will be micrometric in dimensions and will take several steps to prepare. In contrast, the particles of the present invention are prepared in one step.
The preferred luminescent quantum dots of the present invention are CdSe/ZnS luminescent quantum dots: cadmium selenide nanoparticles that are coated with a zinc sulphide shell. Luminescent quantum dots that have visible emission almost always have cadmium. The counter ion could be different, for example cadmium sulphide (CdS) or cadmium teleride (CdTe). Changing the counter ion changes the emission color. CdS particles emit light at higher energies (still visible but close to the UV range). CdTe nanoparticles emit red light (still visible but close to the infrared region). In almost all cases a shell of ZnS is used to passivate the surface to increase the emission efficiency.
The preferred magnetic nanoparticles of the present invention are iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (e.g., γ-Fe2O3 or Fe3O4). It is the understanding of the inventors that iron oxide is the only type of magnetic nanoparticles approved for in-vivo biomedical applications because these particles if capped correctly are not toxic. It is possible to form magnetic nanoparticles with superior magnetic properties like metallic cobalt or alloys of iron and gold. The iron-gold alloys could be potentially useful for cell separation applications because they may not be toxic. Cobalt particles are highly toxic (they probably should be banned for environmental concerns).
The glyconanospheres of the present invention can contain dextran molecules (or could contain other polysaccharides) on their surface that interact strongly with carbohydrate binding proteins. These glyconanospheres can be used for real-time monitoring of protein carbohydrate interactions. The inventors in their studies of the present invention focused on lectins, which are sugar binding proteins. In particular the inventors worked with Concanavaline A (Con A) which binds glycosylic residues in carbohydrates with high affinity (the dissociation constant of dextran-Con A was found in studies of the present inventors to be about 1 nanomolar).
The assay of the present invention could be carried out to screen lectins for their binding affinity to glycosylic residues on the surface of the quantum dots-containing glyconanospheres. The rate of aggregation of the glyconanospheres depends on the concentration and the binding affinity of lectins to the glycosylic residues on the surface of the glyconanospheres.
The glyconanospheres (around 200 nm in diameter) of the present invention can advantageously be used for lectin recognition assays. The quantum dots coated magnetic nanoparticles (around 30 nm in diameter) of the present invention can advantageously be used for breast cancer cells separation and detection in blood.
The present invention includes luminescent and magnetic nanoassemblies comprising luminescent semiconductor QDs and magnetic nanoparticles. These nanoassemblies can typically be around 10 nm to 300 nm in diameter. The present invention includes a plurality of the such nanoassemblies, averaging around 200 nm±25 nm in diameter or smaller. These nanoassemblies can include luminescent quantum dots and magnetic nanocrystals assembled in glyconanospheres.
The present invention includes a plurality of these nanoassemblies, which can average around 30 nm±15% in diameter or smaller. These can include nanoassemblies in which luminescent quantum dots of around 1-5 nm in diameter directly coat core magnetic nanoparticles of around 10-20 nm in diameter.
The nanoassemblies of the present invention can average around 20 nm±15% in diameter or smaller.
The nanoassemblies of the present invention can average around 20 nm±15% in diameter.
The nanoassemblies of the present invention preferably comprise luminescent semiconductor Cd-containing QDs and magnetic nanoparticles.
In the nanoassemblies of the present invention, the QDs preferably include a shell of ZnS.
In the nanoassemblies of the present invention, preferably the magnetic nanoparticles are magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles.
The nanoassemblies of the present invention preferably comprise luminescent semiconductor CdSe—ZnS QDs and magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles.
In the nanoassemblies of the present invention, preferably the nanoassemblies are encapsulated in glyconanospheres.
Preferably, the components of the nanoassemblies of the present invention are bound electrostatically. Alternatively, the components of the nanoassemblies of the present invention are bound covalently.
Preferably, the nanoassemblies of the present invention contain molecules on their surface that interact strongly with carbohydrate binding proteins. Preferably, the molecules are dextran molecules.
The nanoassemblies of the present invention preferably comprise QDs bound to the surface of thiol-modified magnetic nanoparticles.
The present invention includes a method of using the nanoassemblies of the present invention for real-time monitoring of protein-carbohydrate interactions, comprising: attaching to the nanoassemblies a protein or carbohydrate to create modified nanoassemblies; exposing the modified nanoassemblies to fluid thought to contain a carbohydrate or protein of interest to allow protein-carbohydrate interactions to occur if the fluid contains the carbohydrate or protein of interest; observing the modified nanoassemblies after the modified nanoassemblies are exposed to the fluid. Preferably, the modified nanoassemblies are separated from the fluid using magnetic force.
The present invention includes a method of using the nanoassemblies of the present invention for detecting cancer cells, comprising: attaching to the nanoassemblies antibodies against membranal biomarkers that are selectively expressed in breast cancer cells to create modified nanoassemblies; exposing the modified nanoassemblies to fluid thought to contain circulating breast cancer cells to allow the modified nanoassemblies to attach selectively to any breast cancer cells through binding of the antibody-modified nanoassemblies to membranal biomarkers on the cancer cells. Preferably, the modified nanoassemblies are separated from the fluid using magnetic force. When the fluid includes blood which contains breast cancer cells, the breast cancer cells bound to the modified nanoassemblies are separated from the blood using magnetic force. Optionally, the modified nanoassemblies can have different emission colors and different antibodies where the emission color would code for a specific antibody, to enable determination of multiple biomarkers on a cell surface.
The present invention includes a method of assembling highly luminescent semiconductor QDs and magnetic nanoparticles into nanoassemblies, comprising: providing highly luminescent semiconductor QDs in chloroform; providing magnetic nanoparticles in water; coupling the QDs to the magnetic nanoparticles in a chloroform/methanol/water mixture. Preferably, the methanol is added to the QD-containing chloroform to form a mixture of methanol and QD-containing chloroform; and the water containing magnetic nanoparticles is injected into the mixture of methanol and QD-containing chloroform under sonication and vigorous stirring. Preferably, the QDs comprise highly luminescent semiconductor CdSe—ZnS and the magnetic nanoparticles comprise iron oxide nanoparticles.
For a further understanding of the nature, objects, and advantages of the present invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description, read in conjunction with the following drawings, wherein:
The present inventors in their laboratory developed CdSe QDs doped luminescent micelles that were stabilized by a thin silica layer on their surfaces. The stabilized micelles were more stable than ordinary micelles or liposomes.9 Common disadvantages of these structures have been their lack of surface functional groups that are suitable for further bioconjugation and limited chemical stability and biocompatibility. Here, the present inventors describe the development of CdSe—ZnS QD incorporated luminescent glyconanospheres that are suitable for biomolecule conjugation while maintaining the high emission quantum yield of the QDs. The glyconanospheres preferably contain dextran molecules on their surface that interact strongly with carbohydrate binding proteins (CBP). These novel glyconanospheres could be used for real-time monitoring of protein carbohydrate interactions.
In the study in which the present invention was developed the present inventors used electrostatic interactions to incorporate negatively charged CdSe—ZnS QDs into luminescent nanospheres that contain polysaccharides on their surface. While DNA and protein molecules were already conjugated to luminescent semiconductor quantum dots,15-16 the present inventors demonstrate the synthesis of QD-polysaccharide nanocomposites. To prepare dextran grafted luminescent nanospheres, negatively charged CM-dextran and CdSe—ZnS QDs capped with mercaptosuccinic acid were mixed with 80 000 Da positively charged polylysine.
In another study in which the present invention was developed, the present inventors used electrostatic interactions to incorporate negatively charged CdSe—ZnS QDs and iron oxide magnetic nanocrystals into luminescent nanospheres that contain polysaccharides on their surface. While DNA and protein molecules were already conjugated to luminescent semiconductor quantum dots, the present inventors demonstrate for the first time the synthesis of polysaccharide nanocomposites that contain luminescent quantum dots, magnetic nanocrystals and both luminescent quantum dots and magnetic nanocrystals. To prepare dextran grafted luminescent glyconanospheres, negatively charged CM-dextran, CdSe—ZnS QDs capped with mercaptosuccinic acid and carboxyl-modified iron oxide nanocrystals were mixed with 80 000 Da positively charged polylysine.
Carboxyl-modified iron oxide nanoparticles were obtained from Indicia Biotech, France.
Carboxymethyldextran (CM-dextran) was prepared by mixing 100 mg dextran with a molecular weight of 10 000 Da with 200 mg chloroacetic acid in a 6N NaOH alkaline solution at 60° C. for 1 h following a procedure first suggested by Rebizak et al.18 To prepare the luminescent glyconanospheres, 300 μL aqueous solution of 500
CM-dextran was mixed with 120 μL aqueous solution of 0.19 μL mercaptosuccinic acid modified CdSe—ZnS QDs (when forming QDs containing spheres), 0.19 μL of carboxyl-modified iron oxide nanoparticles (when forming iron oxide containing spheres) and 0.19 μL of CdSe/ZnS QDs and 0.19 μl iron oxide nanoparticles (when forming luminescent/magnetic nanocomposite spheres). The concentration of the CdSe—ZnS QDs was calculated using molecular extinction coefficients previously reported by Striolo et al. of 1.1×106 M−1 cm−1 for 3 nm sized CdSe—ZnS QDs and 1.22×106 M−1 cm−1 for 6 nm sized CdSe—ZnS QDs.19 Then, 120 μL of 10 μM polylysine in a pH 7.0 phosphate buffer solution was added to the CM-dextran and QD containing solution. The reaction mixture was incubated at room temperature for 30 min. The concentration of iron oxide nanoparticles was calculated based on inductive coupled plasma (ICP) atomic absorption measurements that quantified the level of iron per mg sample. The newly formed glyconanospheres were washed three times using centrifugation at 4500 rpm for 15 min to remove unreacted QDs and CM-dextran.
Since this preparation method is based on electrostatic interactions, the size of the QDs should not affect the formation of the nanospheres (small variations in the size of the quantum dots or magnetic nanocrsytals did not affect the formation of the larger glyconanospheres). Indeed, QDs of different diameter and different emission color were incorporated into the luminescent glyconanospheres.
The dextran molecules play an important role in forming the spherical nanospheres and preventing their aggregation.
To prove that dextran molecules are indeed incorporated into the nanospheres, the present inventors prepared glyconanospheres with Oregon Green labeled dextran molecules. Oregon-Green is a highly luminescent green dye with fluorescein-like emission properties (λex=470 nm, λem=525 nm). It also provides one negative charge for each dye molecule that is attached to the dextran polymeric chain. When excited at 470 nm, the glyconanospheres showed bright green emission due to the emission of Oregon green (
Unlike the strong attraction of polyelectrolytes often observed in thin films formed on a flat surface using the layer-by-layer deposition technique, the present inventors found that electro-static interactions solely are not strong enough to stabilize the luminescent glyconanospheres. Fluorescence microscopy measurements revealed that these luminescent glyconanospheres dissociated in about 10 h when stored in aqueous solution at room temperature. The relative instability of the electrostatically held glyconanospheres could be attributed to their large surface-to-volume ratio. The interactions of solution ions with surface charges weaken the electrostatic attraction between the positively charged polylysine and the negatively charged CM-dextran, and the mercaptosuccinic acid modified CdSe QDs. To further stabilize the luminescent glyconanospheres, the present inventors introduced the standard water-soluble bioconjugate coupling agent 1-ethyl-3-(3)-dimethylamino-propyl carbodiimide (EDC) to initiate the formation of covalent bonds between the carboxylic groups on the surface of the mercaptosuccinic acid modified CdSe QDs and in the CM-dextran chains and the amino groups of the polylysine chains. The concentration of EDC was 500 mM. The reaction mixture was incubated at room temperature for 2 hours. The formation of amide bonds between the carboxylic and amino groups in the glyconanospheres greatly increased their chemical stability. Luminescence microscopy measurements revealed that the covalently and electrostatically held glyconanospheres remained stable for over two months when stored in aqueous solution at room temperature.
CM-dextran provides the glyconanospheres with high surface density of glucosylic residues. Thus, the carbohydrate binding protein concanavalin A (Con A) can recognize the surface bound dextran. Con A is a lectinic protein that selectively binds to the terminal residues of R-D-glucose and R-D-mannose. Each Con A molecule contains four binding sites for carbohydrates.20 These polyvalent binding sites have been often used in cell agglutination and separation of glycoproteins in affinity chromatography.21 To demonstrate the binding interactions of the surface-bound dextran and Con A, the present inventors mixed a solution of 200 μL 0.04 (based on the concentration of CdSe—ZnS QDs) glyconanospheres with 2 mL 0.05M HEPES buffer solution (pH 7.2) containing 0.25 mg/mL Con A, 0.1 mM Mn2+, and 0.1 mM Ca2+. The solution was incubated at room temperature for 2 h.
The present inventors have developed a novel method to assemble highly luminescent semiconductor CdSe—ZnS QDs into glyconanospheres through electrostatic interactions and covalent stabilization. The present inventors have also developed a novel method to assemble highly luminescent semiconductor CdSe—ZnS QDs and iron oxide nanocrystals into glyconanospheres through electrostatic interactions and covalent stabilization. The emission properties of the QDs containing glyconanospheres were similar to the emission properties of individual QDs. Assembling hundreds of QDs in single glyconanospheres created bright and photostable particles that could be easily observed using conventional fluorescence microscopy instrumentation. This could make luminescent QDs more accessible to fluorescence microscopy studies of biological samples. For example, the luminescent glyconanospheres showed high affinity to Con A, a glucose specific lectin. As demonstrated herein, these glyconanospheres could be used to study carbohydrate-protein interactions.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention includes the formation of luminescent and magnetic nanocomposite particles that consist of superparamagnetic core particles (γ-Fe2O3) and a layer of luminescent CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) on their surface. These particles could be used in a variety of biomedical and biological applications including magnetic separation and detection of cancer cells, bacteria and viruses. CdSe semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) with diameters ranging between 1.5 and 8 nm exhibit strong, tunable luminescence.22-26 They have been widely investigated for their size-dependent optoelectronic properties,27 and for their potential use in optical devices,28 biological labels,29 and sensors.30 Luminescent QDs are brighter, exhibit higher photostability and show narrower emission peaks compared to organic fluorophores.29 CdSe QDs are often coated with a layer of ZnS, which has a larger band gap, to passivate their surface and to increase their emission quantum yield through quantum confinement.31 To enable miscibility of the QDs in aqueous solution, their surface has been modified with carboxyl functional groups.32 Alternatively, QDs were encapsulated in water miscible shells such as liposomes,33 silica miscelles,34 and glyconanospheres.35 QDs were also encapsulated in dendrimers36,37 to increase their stability against photooxidation and photobleaching.
Luminescent CdSe/ZnS QDs of green emission and red emission colors were synthesized based on a method developed by Peng et al., with minor modifications.25 12.7 mg cadmium oxide and 160 mg lauric acid were mixed in a 100 mL three-neck flask. The mixture was heated to ˜200° C. in a mantle to fully dissolve the cadmium oxide in the lauric acid solution. Then, 1.94 g trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) and 1.94 g hexadecylamine (HDA) were added to the solution. The mixture was heated to a temperature higher than 280° C. and kept under a dry nitrogen atmosphere. Upon reaching the desirable temperature the mantle was removed and 2 mL trioctylphosphine (TOP) solution containing 80 mg selenium powder was rapidly injected into the solution under vigorous stirring. It was previously shown that the diameter of the formed QDs depends on the reaction temperature with smaller particles formed at higher temperature.22 The color of the mixture changed from clear colorless to yellow, orange, or red depending on the exact temperature. To form a ZnS coating on the CdSe QDs, the mixture was cooled to ˜200° C. Then, after being kept three minutes at this temperature, a solution containing 250 μl hexamethyldisllathiane ((TMS)2S) and 1 mL diethylzinc (Zn(Et)2) premixed in 2 mL TOP was gradually injected into the solution over a minute. The reaction mixture was kept at 180° C. and stirred for 1 h. The solution was cooled to room temperature and the resulting sample of CdSe/ZnS QDs was washed three times with methanol and chloroform. The QDs showed extremely high quantum yield, reaching 100%. The present inventors even can see the shining fluorescence under room light.
Polymer coated γ-Fe2O3 superparamagnetic magnetic beads were purchased from Indicia Biotech, France. The nanometric γ-Fe2O3 magnetic particles were coated with dimercapto-succinimid acid (DMSA) to stabilize and functionalize the ferrofluid. The surface of the ferrofluid was covered with free thiol (SH) and carboxyl (COOH) residues (3:20 thiol to COOH ratio) to enable covalent coupling of various ligands to the magnetic particles.38 A TEM image (
The coupling between the luminescent CdSe/ZnS QDs and the magnetic beads was based on thiol chemistry. Thiols (—SH) are probably the most utilized functional groups for stabilizing and modifying CdSe QDs.32,36,37,39,40 Thiol groups form stable bonds with metals on the surface of QDs such as cadmium and zinc.41-45 However, the coupling reaction between the QDs and magnetic beads presented a difficulty since the trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) capped CdSe/ZnS QDs were dissolved in chloroform while the polymer-coated magnetic beads were dispersed in water. The present inventors found that running the coupling reaction in a 10:5:1 mixture of chloroform/methanol/water yielded the best nanocomposite particles with minimal aggregation. To carry out the coupling reaction the present inventors first transferred 1 mL of 1 μM CdSe/ZnS QDs into a 5 mL vial. Then the present inventors added 500 μl methanol to the solution. This was followed by the slow injection of 100 μl 0.1 μM magnetic bead-water suspension to the solution under sonication and vigorous stirring. Under these reaction conditions the molar ratio between the QDs and the mage ic particles was 100:1. The excess of QDs was imperative to preventing aggregation of the magnetic beads. Under vigorous stirring the aqueous and organic phases formed an even suspension. The suspension was stirred for 1 h to form the nanocomposite particles. The luminescent/magnetic nanoparticles were then separated from the solution by using a permanent magnet (average cross sectional force density 16.6 T2/m) and washed several times with methanol. The sample was vortexed briefly and sonicated for 15 min to prevent aggregation.
A representative TEM image of the nanocomposite particles is shown in
N=2π(RFe+RQD)2/√3RQD2
where RFe is the radius of the magnetic beads and RQD is the radius of the smaller QDs. This estimated expression is derived by dividing the surface area covered by the small QDs on the larger iron oxide particle by the area covered by a single QD on the iron oxide particle surface. The calculation assumes close packing of QDs on the magnetic particle surface and takes into consideration the gaps between the QDs. For example, for a magnetic particle diameter of 10 nm, the maximum number of QDs increases from 45 to 133 when the QD diameter decreases from 4 to 2 nm. A high-resolution TEM image of an individual magnetic bead coated with CdSe/ZnS QDs is shown in
Luminescence images of the nanocomposite particles coated with ˜3 and ˜5 nm CdSe/ZnS QDs are shown in
To apply the luminescent/magnetic particles for magnetic separation of cells followed by luminescence detection, the present inventors first modified their surface with carboxylic functional groups. A 2 mL portion of 0.1 μM luminescent/magnetic nanoparticle suspension in methanol was transferred into a 250 mL flask, which was heated to 60° C. under stirring under reflux for 6 h. Then, 200 μl mercaptoacetic acid (Sigma) was injected into the flask. The reaction took 1 h to complete. The carboxyl-modified nanoparticles were washed three times using magnetic decantation and were finally dispersed in 2 mL deionized water and briefly vortexed to prevent aggregation. As expected, the carboxy-modified nanoparticles were highly water-soluble and also maintained their luminescence properties.32,40 Mouse anticycline E antibody molecules were attached to the particles through EDAC (1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide) coupling as shown in
A 10 μl portion of mouse anticycline E antibody (Zymed) solution was added into 1 ml ˜0.1 μM luminescent/magnetic nanoparticles suspension in a phosphate buffer (PB) solution at pH 7.4. Then 100 mg EDAC coupling reagent was added into the mixture. The mixture was gently shaken for 1 h and the antibody-labeled particles were then separated and washed using magnetic decantation. The anticycline E labeled nanoparticles were resuspended in 1 mL PB solution at pH 7.4. The use of EDAC coupling enabled the covalent attachment of the antibodies to the carboxyl-modified particles without substantially damaging the active site of the antibodies. To demonstrate the separation capability of the particles the present inventors incubated a sample of 200 μl anticycline E labeled luminescent/magnetic particles with a 1 mL MCF-7 breast cancer cell suspension containing 10,000 cells/mL. Following 15 min incubation at room temperature under gentle shaking the cells were separated from the suspension using a permanent magnet. The cells were washed twice with a phosphate buffer solution using magnetic decantation and observed using digital fluorescence imaging microscopy. Transmission and fluorescence images of the MCF-7 cells labeled with the anticycline E labeled particles are shown in
Conclusions. Water-soluble nanocomposite particles consisting of a magnetic core (γ-Fe2O3) and luminescent quantum dots shell (CdSe/ZnS QDs) were synthesized in an organic/water two-phase mixture. Thiol chemistry was used to bind the QDs to the surface of the magnetic beads. The luminescent/magnetic nanocomposite particles were characterized using TEM and EDS analysis. The particles averaged 20 nm in diameter with about 15% size variation, showed relatively smooth morphology, and were fully water miscible. They also exhibited high emission quantum yield and were easily separated from solution using a permanent magnet. Anticycline E molecules against the breast cancer specific marker cycline E, were attached to the luminescent/magnetic particles followed their functionalization with carboxylic groups through EDAC coupling. The anti cycline E labeled particles were used successfully to separate and detect breast cancer cells in serum. The separation capabilities of the antibody labeled particles in cell suspensions containing MCF-7 and red blood cells are currently under investigation.
Incorporated herein by reference is “Synthesis of Glyconanospheres Containing Luminescent CdSe—ZnS Quantum Dots” by Yongfen Chen, Tianhao Ji, and Zeev Rosenzweig, published in Nano Lett., Vol. 3, No. 5, 2003, 581-584 (copy attached to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/555,629, filed 23 Mar. 2004).
Also incorporated herein by reference is “Superparamagnetic Fe2O3 Beads-CdSe/ZnS Quantum Dots Core-Shell Nanocomposite Particles for Cell Separation” by Desheng Wang, Jibao He, Nista Rosenzweig, and Zeev Rosenzweig, published in Nano Lett., 2004, Vol. 4, No. 3, 409-413 (copy attached to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/555,629, filed 23 Mar. 2004).
All measurements disclosed herein are at standard temperature and pressure, at sea level on Earth, unless indicated otherwise. All materials used or intended to be used in a human being are biocompatible, unless indicated otherwise.
The foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only; the scope of the present invention is to be limited only by the following claims.
Priority of our U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/555,629, filed 23 Mar. 2004, incorporated herein by reference, is hereby claimed.
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) grants CAREER CHE-9874498; NSF/LEQSF2001-04-RII-03; and CHE-0134027.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60555629 | Mar 2004 | US |
