| AVS 65th International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Thin Films Division | Tuesday Sessions |
| Session TF+AS-TuM |
| Session: | Special Session in Honor of Paul Holloway: Luminescent Materials Growth, Synthesis and Characterization |
| Presenter: | Olga Shenderova, Adamas Nanotechnologies |
| Authors: | O.A. Shenderova, Adamas Nanotechnologies M.D. Torelli, Adamas Nanotechnologies A. Rickard, Duke University N.J. Nunn, Adamas Nanotechnologies M. Backer, SibTech G.M. Palmer, Duke University G. McGuire, Adamas Nanotechnologies |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Fluorescent nanodiamonds (FNDs) containing color centers exhibit distinct properties including very high biological compatibility, infinite photostability, absence of photoblinking, long fluorescence lifetime (>10 ns), and ease of biofunctionalization, which makes them an attractive alternative to quantum dots, organic dyes, and polymer beads as imaging reagents. Potential applications include background-free and long-term cell imaging, flow cytometry, super-resolution imaging, correlative microscopy, labeling of low-abundance cellular components, fiducial markers, and image guided surgery. In this talk, after reviewing unique properties of FND, their utility for in vivo tumor imaging will be presented. To target receptors overexpressed in cancerous tissue, FNDs were functionalized with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) via click chemistry and then validated in vitro for functional activity. Thereafter, FND-VEGF was administered via tail vein injection to nude mice induced with a mammary carcinoma, and mice were analyzed both in vivo and ex vivo via whole body imaging and fluorescence microscopy. Ex vivo micro-spectroscopy utilized the unique spectral signature of nitrogen-vacancy induced fluorescence to demonstrate unambiguous determination of ND translocation to tumorous tissue. The results are placed in the context of FND for whole-body imaging and related applications.