Size-Dependent Penetration of Gold Nanoprobes into Fixed Cells

Nanoprobes have been increasingly applied in the biomedical field due to their superior optical, electronic, or magnetic properties. Among the many aspects involved in the interaction between nanoprobes and biospecimens, size plays an essential role. Although the influence of size on their internalization behavior and distribution in live cells has been extensively studied, how does the size affect penetration of nanoprobes into fixed cells remains unknown. We investigate here the influence of size on the penetration behavior of gold nanoprobes into fixed mammalian cells by dark-field microscopy and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) microspectroscopy. We show that 14, 20, and 29 nm nanoprobes can readily enter into methanol-fixed MCF-7 cells, while 42 and 55 nm nanoprobes cannot cross the cell membrane. For 4% paraformaldehyde-fixed cells, even 14 nm nanoprobes can hardly get into the cells, but after treatment with permeabilization reagents, 14 and 20 nm nanoprobes are permitted to enter the cells. These findings provide important implications in future design of nanoprobes for cellular immunostaining.