Research
Inorganic phosphate nanorods are a novel fluorescent label in cell biology
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* Corresponding author: Debabrata Mukhopadhyay mukhopadhyay.debabrata@mayo.edu
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
Journal of Nanobiotechnology 2006, 4:11 doi:10.1186/1477-3155-4-11
Published: 30 October 2006Abstract
We report the first use of inorganic fluorescent lanthanide (europium and terbium) ortho phosphate [LnPO4·H2O, Ln = Eu and Tb] nanorods as a novel fluorescent label in cell biology. These nanorods, synthesized by the microwave technique, retain their fluorescent properties after internalization into human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), 786-O cells, or renal carcinoma cells (RCC). The cellular internalization of these nanorods and their fluorescence properties were characterized by fluorescence spectroscopy (FS), differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy, confocal microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). At concentrations up to 50 μg/ml, the use of [3H]-thymidine incorporation assays, apoptosis assays (TUNEL), and trypan blue exclusion illustrated the non-toxic nature of these nanorods, a major advantage over traditional organic dyes