Raman spectroscopy for intracellular localisation of meso-Tetraphenylporphyrin-gold nanoparticles conjugates

摘要

This study reports on the use of surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) as a non-destructive tool for detection and localisation of Porphyrin-Gold nanoparticles (GNP) conjugates at the subcellular level. Conjugates of the hydrophobic photosensitizer meso-Tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) and GNPs were synthesized. The TPP-GNPs were characterized by by ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. TPP-GNPs with a mean diameter of 12 nm were introduced into SW480 human colon adenocarcinoma cells. Single point SERS was applied in conjunction with fluorescence microscopy to localize the exogenous materials within the cells. Our results indicate that the TPP-GNP nanomaterials are distributed within cells in the cytoplasm. Overall our results indicate that Raman spectroscopy has the potential to be a high-throughput tool to localise nanoparticles in the subcellular environnent.