Studies on intracellular delivery of carboxyl-coated CdTe quantum dots mediated by fusogenic liposomes

Abstract

The use of Quantum Dots (QDs) as fluorescent probes for understanding biological functions has emerged as an advantageous alternative over application of conventional fluorescent dyes. Intracellular delivery of QDs is currently a specific field of research. When QDs are tracking a specific target in live cells, they are mostly applied for extracellular membrane labeling. In order to study intracellular molecules and structures it is necessary to deliver free QDs into the cell cytosol. In this work, we adapted the freeze and thaw method to encapsulate water dispersed carboxyl-coated CdTe QDs into liposomes of different compositions, including cationic liposomes with fusogenic properties. We showed that labeled liposomes were able to fuse with live human stem cells and red blood cells in an endocytic-independent way. We followed the interactions of liposomes containing QDs with the cells. The results were minutely discussed and showed that QDs were delivered, but they were not freely diffused in the cytosol of those cells. We believe that this approach has the potential to be applied as a general route for encapsulation and delivery of any membrane-impermeant material into living cells.