Photoactivation of Quantum Dot Fluorescence Following Endocytosis

We studied the fluorescence of quantum dots in cells. Coating quantum dots with cationic peptides caused them to be endocytosed and transported to lysosomes. After overnight incubation, their fluorescence apparently dimmed but became markedly “photoactivatable”, increasing more than 3-fold within mi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nano letters 2005-07, Vol.5 (7), p.1445-1449
Main Authors: Silver, Jonathan, Ou, Wu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Applied sciences
Cell Line
Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties
Cricetinae
Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation
Electronics
Endocytosis - physiology
Endosomes - physiology
Exact sciences and technology
Fluorescent Dyes
HeLa Cells
Humans
Kidney - physiology
Kidney - radiation effects
Light
Luminescent Measurements - methods
Microelectronic fabrication (materials and surfaces technology)
Microscopy, Fluorescence - methods
Nanoscale materials: clusters, nanoparticles, nanotubes, and nanocrystals
Photochemistry - methods
Physics
Quantum Dots
Radiation Dosage
Semiconductor electronics. Microelectronics. Optoelectronics. Solid state devices
Structure of solids and liquids
crystallography
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Summary:We studied the fluorescence of quantum dots in cells. Coating quantum dots with cationic peptides caused them to be endocytosed and transported to lysosomes. After overnight incubation, their fluorescence apparently dimmed but became markedly “photoactivatable”, increasing more than 3-fold within minutes on exposure to bright light, and decaying over hours in the dark. Photoactivation was greater in the presence of water than ethanol, and UV illumination compensated for lack of water during photoactivation. Dimming and photoactivation could affect the use of quantum dots as quantitative probes in vivo and lead to new uses, such as tracking molecular movement.
ISSN:1530-6984
1530-6992
DOI:10.1021/nl050808n