Cell-Penetrating Peptide-Functionized Quantum Dots for Intracellular Delivery
Quantum dots (QDs) are luminescent semiconductor nanocrystals that are widely used as fluorescent probes in biomedical applications, including cellular imaging and tumor tracking. Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), also called protein transduction domains (PTDs), are short basic peptides that permeate cell membranes and are able to deliver a variety of macromolecule cargoes, such as DNAs, RNAs, proteins, and nanomaterials. Here we review strategies to couple QDs to CPPs, by either covalent linkages or noncovalent interactions, to provide a tool to study intracellular delivery. This facilitated transport of QDs by CPPs into cells is both simple and efficient. Accordingly, CPP-QD nanoparticles are likely to be of broad utility in biological research and advance the development of medical and pharmaceutical therapeutics.
Keywords: ARGININE-RICH; CELL-PENETRATING PEPTIDE; CELLULAR INTERNALIZATION; PROTEIN TRANSDUCTION DOMAIN; QUANTUM DOT
Document Type: Review Article
Publication date: 01 December 2010
- Journal for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (JNN) is an international and multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal with a wide-ranging coverage, consolidating research activities in all areas of nanoscience and nanotechnology into a single and unique reference source. JNN is the first cross-disciplinary journal to publish original full research articles, rapid communications of important new scientific and technological findings, timely state-of-the-art reviews with author's photo and short biography, and current research news encompassing the fundamental and applied research in all disciplines of science, engineering and medicine.
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