Issue 10, 2017

Chiral nanoprobes for targeting and long-term imaging of the Golgi apparatus

Abstract

The Golgi apparatus is an essential subcellular organelle. Targeting and monitoring the Golgi change at the single-cell level over a long time scale are critical but are challenges that have not yet been tackled. Inspired by the precise Golgi positioning ability of galactosyltransferase and protein kinase D, due to their cysteine residues, we developed a method for long-term Golgi imaging. Fluorescent molecules, carbon quantum dots (CQDs) and silica nanoparticles could target the Golgi when they are modified with L-cysteine. L-Cysteine-rich chiral carbon quantum dots (LC-CQDs), which have the benefits of a high Golgi specificity from L-cysteine and excellent photostability and biocompatibility from the CQDs, are proven to be highly suitable for long-term in situ imaging of the Golgi. Investigation of the mechanism showed that free thiol groups and the L-type stereo configuration of LC-CQDs are essential for specific targeting of the Golgi. With the aid of the as-prepared LC-CQDs, the dynamic changes of the Golgi in the early stage of viral infection were visualized. The Golgi targeting and imaging strategy used in this work is beneficial for Golgi-targeted drug delivery and early diagnosis and therapy of Golgi diseases.

Graphical abstract: Chiral nanoprobes for targeting and long-term imaging of the Golgi apparatus

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
23 Mar 2017
Accepted
27 Jul 2017
First published
31 Jul 2017
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2017,8, 6829-6835

Chiral nanoprobes for targeting and long-term imaging of the Golgi apparatus

R. S. Li, P. F. Gao, H. Z. Zhang, L. L. Zheng, C. M. Li, J. Wang, Y. F. Li, F. Liu, N. Li and C. Z. Huang, Chem. Sci., 2017, 8, 6829 DOI: 10.1039/C7SC01316G

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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