Two-Photon Image Tracking of Neural Stem Cells via Iridium Complexes Encapsulated in Polymeric Nanospheres

Dan Li; Xiaoqian Yan; Yangnan Hu; Yun Liu; Rongrong Guo; Menghui Liao; Buwei Shao; Qilin Tang; Xing Guo; Renjie Chai; Qi Zhang; Mingliang Tang

doi:10.1021/acsbiomaterials.8b01231

Two-Photon Image Tracking of Neural Stem Cells via Iridium Complexes Encapsulated in Polymeric Nanospheres

ACS Biomater Sci Eng. 2019 Mar 11;5(3):1561-1568. doi: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.8b01231. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

Authors

Dan Li^{1

2

3}, Xiaoqian Yan^{1

2

3}, Yangnan Hu^{1

2

3}, Yun Liu^{1

2

3}, Rongrong Guo^{1

2

3}, Menghui Liao^{1

2

3}, Buwei Shao^{1

2

3}, Qilin Tang⁴, Xing Guo⁵, Renjie Chai^{1

2

3

6

7

8}, Qi Zhang⁹, Mingliang Tang^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory for Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Ministry of Education, Institute of Life Sciences, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China.
² Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Nantong 226001, China.
³ Joint Research Institute of Southeast University and Monash University, Suzhou 215123, China.
⁴ The First Clinical Medical School, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei 230032, China.
⁵ Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory of Human Functional Genomics of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166 Jiangsu, China.
⁶ Institute for Stem Cell and Regeneration, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 10010, China.
⁷ ENT Institute and Otorhinolaryngology Department of Affiliated Eye and ENT Hospital, Key Laboratory of Hearing Medicine of NHFPC, Shanghai Engineering Research Centre of Cochlear Implant, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Fudan University, Shanghai 200031, China.
⁸ Beijing Key Laboratory of Neural Regeneration and Repair, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China.
⁹ School of Radiation Medicine and Protection and School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences (RAD-X), Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China.

PMID: 33405629
DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.8b01231

Abstract

Iridium(III) complexes have been shown to be promising probes in two-photon imaging to real-time track the transplanted cells in stem-cell-based therapy. Here, we report on polymeric nanocapsules loaded with red phosphorescence dye of bis(2-methyldibenzo[f,h]quinoxaline) (acetylacetonate) iridium(III) (Ir(MDQ)₂acac) with excellent stability created by the double emulsion method. The Ir(MDQ)₂acac nanocapsules present high biocompatibility and an efficient fluorescent labeling rate when incubated with cultured mouse neural stem cells (NSCs). More importantly, the Ir(MDQ)₂acac nanocapsules had both one- and two-photon imaging properties with stable phosphorescence lasting for 72 h. Furthermore, data from in vivo tracking in nude mice demonstrated that the photoluminescence from Ir(MDQ)₂acac nanocapsules in NSCs could be stably monitored for up to 21 days. Our data shed light on the potential clinical application of iridium complexes encapsulated in polymeric nanospheres for two-photon imaging in real-time tracking of the transplanted stem cells.

Keywords: iridium; nanosphere; one-photon imaging; stem cell tracking; two-photon imaging.