A Clickable Spherical Nucleic Acid Probe for Fluorescence and Synchrotron Radiation X-ray Dual-Modality Imaging

摘要: Synchrotron radiation imaging technology offers nanoscale spatial resolution, but there is a scarcity of neuron-specific probes developed using this technology. In this study, we have developed a dual-modal probe based on click chemistry spherical nucleic acids (SNAs), achieving extremely specific fluorescence imaging and synchrotron X-ray microscopy of neuronal cells. Monodisperse gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with a diameter of 5 nm were used as the core, and their surfaces were covalently functionalized with both alkynylated DNA strands and Cy5 fluorescent groups. This design enables the particles to undergo click chemistry reactions with azide groups expressed by cells, thereby facilitating the labeling of neuronal cells. We successfully labeled PC12 neuroendocrine cells and primary neuronal cells with the probe and performed dual-modal imaging using fluorescence and synchrotron X-ray microscopy. This study combines the spatiotemporal controllability of click chemistry with the synergistic effect of spherical nucleic acid gold nuclei, providing a novel molecular tool for the study of brain neuron-specific marker imaging and a new approach for the design of synchrotron X-ray specific probes.