Open AccessSurface charge controlled nucleoli selective staining with nanoscale carbon dots
Author(s) -
Zhijun Zhu,
Qingxuan Li,
Ping Li,
Xiaojie Xun,
Liyuan Zheng,
Dezhi Ning,
Ming Su
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0216230
Subject(s) - nucleolus , nanodiamond , fluorescence , biophysics , surface charge , nanotechnology , nanoscopic scale , carbon fibers , chemistry , staining , materials science , cytoplasm , biochemistry , biology , diamond , optics , physics , genetics , organic chemistry , composite number , composite material
Organelle selective imaging can reveal structural and functional characters of cells undergoing external stimuli, and is considered critical in revealing biological fundamentals, designing targeted delivery system, and screening potential drugs and therapeutics. This paper describes the nucleoli targeting ability of nanoscale carbon dots (including nanodiamond) that are hydrothermally made with controlled surface charges. The surface charges of carbon dots are controlled in the range of -17.9 to -2.84 mV by changing the molar ratio of two precursors, citric acid (CA) and ethylenediamine (EDA). All carbon dots samples show strong fluorescence under wide excitation wavelength, and samples with both negative and positve charges show strong fluorescent contrast from stained nucleoli. The nucleoli selective imaging of live cell has been confirmed with Hoechst staining and nucleoli specific staining (SYTO RNA-select green), and is explained as surface charge heterogeneity on carbon dots. Carbon dots with both negative and positive charges have better ability to penetrate cell and nucleus membranes, and the charge heterogeneity helps carbon dots to bind preferentially to nucleoli, where the electrostatic environment is favored.