Functionalized Fluorescent Oxide Nanoparticles:  Artificial Toxins for Sodium Channel Targeting and Imaging at the Single-Molecule Level (original) (raw)

New biological labels based on functionalized YVO4: Eu nanoparticles

MRS Proceedings, 2004

Lanthanide-ion doped oxide (YVO 4 :Eu) nanoparticles were synthesized as aqueous colloids and functionalized by a bioactive silane shell to be used as fluorescent biological labels. Nanoparticles functionalized with guanidinium groups were able to act as artificial toxins which specifically target Na' channels. They were individually detectable in live cardiac myocytes. Functionalized oxide nanoparticles appear as a new interesting tool, especially attractive for long-term single-molecule tracking due to their photo-stability and long luminescence lifetime. * The composition of the physiological Ringer solution was (mM): NaCI: 1103.5; KCI: 2.5: Ca Cl,: 2; MgC : 1; Na*pyruvate: 5: HEPES (NaOH): 10; glucose: 10; alhumine: I mg/mil; pH: 7.34.

Solid State Chemistry Group, Condensed Matter Physics Laboratory

2004

Lanthanide ion-doped oxide nanoparticles were functionalized for use as fluorescent biological labels. These nanoparticles are synthesized directly in water, which facilitates their functionalization, and are remarkably photostable without emission intermittency. Nanoparticles functionalized with guanidinium groups act as artificial toxins and specifically target sodium channels. They are individually detectable in live cardiac myocytes, revealing a heterogeneous distribution of sodium channels. Functionalized oxide nanoparticles appear to be a novel tool that is particularly attractive for long-term single-molecule tracking. Organic fluorescent compounds such as fluorescent proteins are extensively used to study molecular and cellular processes.1-3 Because chromophores typically undergo rapid photobleaching, semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum dots, QDs) have been proposed as alternative fluorescent labels4,5 and have led to very promising results6-10 despite the fact that their wa...

Sodium channels as gateable non-photonic sensors for membrane-delimited reactive species

Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes, 2014

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) play crucial roles in physiological processes. While excessive ROS damages cells, small fluctuations in ROS levels represent physiological signals important for vital functions. Despite the physiological importance of ROS, many fundamental questions remain unanswered, such as which types of ROS occur in cells, how they distribute inside cells, and how long they remain in an active form. The current study presents a ratiometric sensor of intracellular ROS levels based on genetically engineered voltage-gated sodium channels (roNaV). roNaV can be used for detecting oxidative modification that occurs near the plasma membrane with a sensitivity similar to existing fluorescence-based ROS sensors. Moreover, roNaV has several advantages over traditional sensors because it does not need excitation light for sensing, and thus, can be used to detect phototoxic cellular modifications. In addition, the ROS dynamic range of roNaV is easily manipulated in real time by means of the endogenous channel inactivation mechanism. Measurements on ROS liberated from intracellular Lucifer Yellow and genetically encoded KillerRed have revealed an assessment of ROS lifetime in individual mammalian cells. Flashlight-induced ROS concentration decayed with two major time constants of about 10 and 1000 ms.

Development of High affinity Nanobodies Specific for NaV1.4 and NaV1.5 Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Isoforms

Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2022

Edited by Mike Shipston Voltage-gated sodium channels, Na V s, are responsible for the rapid rise of action potentials in excitable tissues. Na V channel mutations have been implicated in several human genetic diseases, such as hypokalemic periodic paralysis, myotonia, and long-QT and Brugada syndromes. Here, we generated high-affinity anti-Na V nanobodies (Nbs), Nb17 and Nb82, that recognize the Na V 1.4 (skeletal muscle) and Na V 1.5 (cardiac muscle) channel isoforms. These Nbs were raised in llama (Lama glama) and selected from a phage display library for high affinity to the C-terminal (CT) region of Na V 1.4. The Nbs were expressed in Escherichia coli, purified, and biophysically characterized. Development of high-affinity Nbs specifically targeting a given human Na V isoform has been challenging because they usually show undesired crossreactivity for different Na V isoforms. Our results show, however, that Nb17 and Nb82 recognize the CTNa V 1.4 or CTNa V 1.5 over other CTNav isoforms. Kinetic experiments by biolayer interferometry determined that Nb17 and Nb82 bind to the CTNa V 1.4 and CTNa V 1.5 with high affinity (K D 40-60 nM). In addition, as proof of concept, we show that Nb82 could detect Na V 1.4 and Na V 1.5 channels in mammalian cells and tissues by Western blot. Furthermore, human embryonic kidney cells expressing holo Na V 1.5 channels demonstrated a robust FRET-binding efficiency for Nb17 and Nb82. Our work lays the foundation for developing Nbs as anti-Na V reagents to capture Na V s from cell lysates and as molecular visualization agents for Na V s.

Tracking sodium channels in live cells: confocal imaging using fluorescently labeled toxins

Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 2002

One particularly important class of ion channels in excitable cells are the voltage-dependent sodium channels (VDSC). Knowledge of the distribution of VDSC in living cells is important for studies of neuronal excitability, development, and plasticity. Here, we demonstrate a new method for visualizing the spatial distribution of VDSC in living cells. To illustrate the capabilities of the technique, the distribution of VDSC in GH3 cells was revealed with fluorescent derivatives of the a-type and b-type scorpion toxins in conjunction with laser scanning confocal microscopy. Cells exhibited fluorescent hot spots on the surface of the membrane. This characteristic staining pattern was prevented by pre-incubation with unlabeled native toxins and blocked by membrane depolarization for a-type toxins. Labeling was not observed in cells lacking sodium channels (HEK 293) after incubation with fluorescent-labeled toxins. Image processing techniques were applied to identify the location of each cluster of labeled VDSC in these cells. The proposed method eliminates artefacts commonly introduced during sample preparation for immunostaining and should prove to be a valuable research tool for investigating VDSC distribution in living specimens. #

Mixed lanthanide oxide nanoparticles as dual imaging agent in biomedicine

There is no doubt that the molecular imaging is an extremely important technique in diagnosing diseases. Dual imaging is emerging as a step forward in molecular imaging technique because it can provide us with more information useful for diagnosing diseases than single imaging. Therefore, diverse dual imaging modalities should be developed. Molecular imaging generally relies on imaging agents. Mixed lanthanide oxide nanoparticles could be valuable materials for dual magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-fluorescent imaging (FI) because they have both excellent and diverse magnetic and fluorescent properties useful for dual MRI-FI, depending on lanthanide ions used. Since they are mixed nanoparticles, they are compact, robust, and stable, which is extremely useful for biomedical applications. They can be also easily synthesized with facile composition control. In this study, we explored three systems of ultrasmall mixed lanthanide (Dy/Eu, Ho/Eu, and Ho/Tb) oxide nanoparticles to demonstrate their usefulness as dual T 2 MRI-FI agents.

Bio-functionalization of ligand-free upconverting lanthanide doped nanoparticles for bio-imaging and cell targeting

Nanoscale, 2012

All chemicals used in the synthesis of the nanoparticles were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich and used as received. Millipore water was used in the preparation of all aqueous solutions used in the characterization of the samples. Synthesis of Oleate-Capped-Ln 3+-UCNPs. Oleate-capped NaGdF 4 :Er 3+ 2%, Yb 3+ 20% nanoparticles (oleate-capped-Ln 3+-UCNPs) were synthesized via the thermal decomposition procedure 1, 2. In the first step, the precursors (Solution A) were prepared by mixing 0.975 mmol Gd 2 O 3 (99.99 %), 0.25 mmol Yb 2 O 3 (99.99 %), and 0.025 mmol Er 2 O 3 (99.99 %) with 5 mL trifluoroacetic acid (99 %) and 5 mL of distilled water in a 100 mL three-neck round-bottom flask. The solution was stirred and refluxed at 80 °C for 12 h or until a clear solution was obtained and the temperature was lowered to 60 °C to slowly evaporate excess trifluoroacetic acid and water. In the second step, 2.5 mmol sodium trifluoroacetic acid CF 3 COONa (98 %) was added to the dried lanthanide trifluoroacetate precursors and mixed with 7.5 mL each of oleic acid and 1-octadecene (Solution A). In a separate three-neck round bottom flask 12.5 mL each of the coordinating ligand oleic acid (90 %) and the non-coordinating solvent 1-octadecene (90 %) were added (Solution B). Both solutions were placed under vaccum at a temperature of 150 °C, degassed to remove residual water and oxygen with stirring for 30 minutes. Solution B was heated under argon flow at a rate of approximately 8 °C/min, to 310 °C. Solution A was added to Solution B using a mechanical pump system at a rate of 1.5 mL/min (Harvard Apparatus Econoflow). The solution was maintained at 310 °C and stirred vigorously for 2 h to form the oleate-capped NaGdF 4 :Er 3+ 2%, Yb 3+ 20% nanoparticles. After 2 h, the mixture was allowed to cool to room temperature, and the oleate-capped-Ln 3+-UCNPs were precipitated by the addition of hexane/ethanol (1:4 v/v) and isolated via centrifugation at 3000 rpm for 15 minutes. The resulting pellet was then washed once with ethanol and further purified by dispersing in a minimum amount of hexane and precipitated with excess ethanol. The resulting pellet was subsequently washed with acetone and isolated via centrifugation. The resulting oleate-capped-Ln 3+-UCNPs were dried.

Fluorescent Nanoagents for Biomedical Applications

2020

Fluorescence imaging is a promising method widely used for the evaluation of the biodistribution and accumulation of various fluorescent agents cross-linked to the drug for effective therapy control. This work presents the methods for the functionalization of nanomaterials to provide them with fluorescent properties. The first of these methods is a unique technology for producing porous silicon with fluorescent properties. The second approach demonstrates linking of the fluorophores to inorganic nanoparticles (NP) using a spacer molecule ending with a functional group. For all these examples of fluorophores, biodistribution studies were performed with the fluorescent imaging system IVIS Lumina LT III (PerkinElmer, USA). It was noted that the size of particles and the method of their injection affect the distribution and accumulation in organs. The resulting materials can be used to develop platforms for theranostics.

How to control fluorescent labeling of metal oxide nanoparticles for artefact-free live cell microscopy

Nanotoxicology

Nanotechnologies hold great promise for various applications. To predict and guarantee the safety of novel nanomaterials, it is essential to understand their mechanism of action in an organism, causally connecting adverse outcomes with early molecular events. This is best investigated using noninvasive advanced optical methods, such as high-resolution live-cell fluorescence microscopy, which require stable labeling of nanoparticles with fluorescent dyes. However, as shown here, when the labeling is performed inadequately, unbound fluorescent dyes and inadvertently altered chemical and physical properties of the nanoparticles can result in experimental artefacts and erroneous conclusions. To prevent such unintentional errors, we introduce a tested minimal combination of experimental methods to enable artefact-free fluorescent labeling of metal-oxide nanoparticles-the largest subpopulation of nanoparticles by industrial production and applications-and demonstrate its application in the case of TiO 2 nanotubes. We (1) characterize potential changes of the nanoparticles' surface charge and morphology that might occur during labeling by using zeta potential measurements and transmission electron microscopy, respectively, and (2) assess stable binding of the fluorescent dye to the nanoparticles with either fluorescence intensity measurements or fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, which ensures correct nanoparticle localization. Together, these steps warrant the reliability and reproducibility of advanced optical tracking, which is necessary to explore nanomaterials' mechanism of action and will foster widespread and safe use of new nanomaterials.