Gold nanoparticle-based two-photon fluorescent nanoprobe for monitoring intracellular nitric oxide levels

• Published in: Photodiagnosis and photodynamic therapy Vol. 46; p. 104182
• Main Authors: del Valle, Carla Arnau, Thomas, Paul, Galindo, Francisco, Muñoz-Herranz, M. Paz, Marín, María J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.04.2024
• Subjects: cancer; nanoparticles; near-infrared; nitric oxide; photodiagnosis; two-photon; nitric oxide; cancer; nanoparticles; two-photon; photodiagnosis; near-infrared
• ISSN: 1572-1000; 1873-1597
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pdpdt.2024.104182

Nitric oxide (NO) is involved in the regulation of physiological and pathological mechanisms of the cardiovascular, nervous and immune systems; and plays an important role in cancer being involved in tumor growth and suppressing processes depending on its concentration. The development of a near-infrared excitable nanoprobe, consisting of gold nanoparticles functionalized with a two-photon excitable NO probe, for the detection of intracellular NO is reported. The nanoprobe showed good selectivity towards NO over cellular interferences and excellent stability in aqueous-medium over time. The nanoprobe was able to selectively detect endogenous and exogenous NO in different cell lines and it accumulated in the acidic organelles showing negligible toxicity. Importantly, the nanoprobe showed potential to quantify intracellular NO concentrations in breast cancer cells. The novel gold-based two-photon nanoprobe showed an excellent performance and versatility and could potentially be applied for the spatiotemporal monitoring of in vivo NO levels.