Functionalized luminescent oxide nanoparticles for sodium channel imaging at the single molecule level

摘要

Lanthanide-ion doped oxide nanoparticles were functionalized for use as fluorescent biological labels. Thesenanoparticles are synthesized directly in water which facilitates their functionalization, and are very photostable withoutemission intermittency. Nanoparticles functionalized with guanidinium groups act as artificial toxins and specificallytarget sodium channels. They are individually detectable in cardiac myocytes, revealing a heterogeneous distribution ofsodium channels. Functionalized oxide nanoparticles appear as a novel tool particularly well adapted to long-termsingle-molecule tracking.