Simultaneous and multisite tumor rapid-target bioimaging through in vivo biosynthesis of fluorescent gold nanoclusters

Abstract

Simultaneous and multisite tumor rapid-target bioimaging has been realized in this contribution through in vivo biosynthesis of fluorescent gold nanoclusters (GNCs). The selectively biosynthesized fluorescent GNCs in cancer cells or tumor tissues by systemic bio-administration of gold precursors via tail vein injection in tumor bearing mice were found to exhibit a highly efficient tumor targeting effect. Intracellular fluorescence studies demonstrate that in vivo biosynthesized GNCs from cancer cells could efficiently label and image target cells with bright photostable fluorescence, which could be readily exploited for the rapid imaging in vivo of the biodistribution of GNCs in mice and thus efficiently determine the precise target sites of fluorescent GNCs specifically biosynthesized in tumor tissues with high spatiotemporal resolution. Moreover, histopathologic analyses of H&E-stained tissue sections indicate that no side effects for mice treated with gold precursors are found during the process of systemic bio-administration for gold precursors. This raises the possibility of utilizing the in vivo biosynthesized GNCs through intravenous administration of biocompatible gold precursors as promising and effective biomarkers for rapid tumor diagnosis and precise surgical intervention.