Work

Dynamic Monitoring of Content Variation of Guanosine Triphosphate in Single Cells under External Stimulus with Functionalized Fluorescent/Photothermal Nb 2 C-MXene Nanoprobes

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Photothermal therapy (PTT) has demonstrated significant potential in the ablation of tumors, but understanding of the dynamic molecular changes in intracellular energy metabolism during PTT-induced cell death is less studied, which is helpful for the optimization of the therapeutic approach. Guanosine triphosphate (GTP), is a key nucleotide involved in energy metabolism and cellular processes, playing a critical role in tumor cell proliferation and metabolic reprogramming. Herein, we developed an aptamer-functionalized Nb 2 C MXene nanoprobe (FA-Nb 2 C-GTP) to monitor dynamic content variation of intracellular GTP during PTT process. Based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), the probe exhibits an ″off-on″ fluorescence response upon GTP binding. It exhibits high specificity for GTP (LOD = 15.67 μM), good photothermal conversion efficiency (34.21%), and biocompatibility. During photothermal therapy, FA-Nb 2 C-GTP enabled real-time cell imaging of dynamic content variation of GTP. In HepG2 cells, the experiments found that GTP levels initially increased, reaching a peak at 5 min postirradiation with a 232.8% fluorescence enhancement relative to controls, followed by a decline upon extended NIR irradiation exposure. Conversely, HL-7702 cells exhibited minimal GTP fluctuations, with a maximum fluorescence increase of 23.8% at 7 min postirradiation. These results revealed distinct GTP metabolic response behaviors between the tumor and normal cells during PTT-induced apoptosis. The designed FA-Nb 2 C-GTP nanoprobe represents a powerful tool for investigating the relationship between energy metabolism and PTT-induced tumor cell death, offering insights for the rational design of targeted PTT agents.

Source: Chemical & Biomedical Imaging

DOI: 10.1021/cbmi.5c00137