Surface functionalized carbon quantum dots nucleic acid conjugate for bioimaging applications

Abstract

The conjugation of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) with nucleic acids marks a significant breakthrough in bioimaging within biomedical research. By harnessing the distinctive optical and physicochemical properties of CQDs alongside the programmable functionality of nucleic acids, researchers are unlocking new avenues for precise diagnostics and targeted therapeutics. This thesis focuses on poly-l-lysine functionalized carbon quantum dot (PLLCQD)-nucleic acid conjugates, exploring their potential in bioimaging applications. The synthesized PLLCQDs were confirmed by spectroscopic and microscopic characterization techniques. The PLLCQDs shows blue fluorescence and excitation dependent fluorescence behavior. The synthesized PLLCQDs were conjugate with calf thymus DNA using different optimization parameters like DNA concentration, pH, incubation time. The formed PLLCQD-Ct-DNA conjugate were confirmed by zeta potential and electrophoretic mobility shift assay. The relation between PLLCQD and Ct-DNA found using binding constant analysis for the PLLCQD-Ct-DNA conjugate. PLLCQD-Ct-DNA conjugate possesses good biocompatibility and exhibited a potential function in human endothelial kidney-293 (HEK-293) cells. The PLLCQD-Ct-DNA conjugate exhibited greater cellular uptake in HEK-293 cells compared to polyethyleneimine (PEI) and lipofectamine with Ct-DNA. Finally, formed conjugates were applied to intracellular bioimaging applications in human endothelial kidney cells using confocal microscopy. newline