Single particle tracking of fluorescent nanodiamonds in cells and organisms

• Published in: Current opinion in solid state & materials science Vol. 21; no. 1; pp. 35 - 42
• Main Authors: Hui, Yuen Yung, Hsiao, Wesley Wei-Wen, Haziza, Simon, Simonneau, Michel, Treussart, François, Chang, Huan-Cheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2017; Elsevier
• Subjects: Biological Physics; Carbon-based nanomaterial; Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy; Magnetic modulation; Nitrogen-vacancy center; Optically detected magnetic resonance; Optics; Physics; Nitrogen-vacancy center; Optically detected magnetic resonance; Magnetic modulation; Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy; Carbon-based nanomaterial
• ISSN: 1359-0286
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cossms.2016.04.002

•Single particle tracking enables nanoscale investigation of cellular processes.•Fluorescent nanodiamond contains nitrogen-vacancy centers as photostable emitters.•Background-free imaging and tracking are feasible with nitrogen-vacancy centers.•Fluorescent nanodiamonds are suitable for long-term tracking in vitro and in vivo. Ever since the discovery of fullerenes in 1985, nanocarbon has demonstrated a wide range of applications in various areas of science and engineering. Compared with metal, oxide, and semiconductor nanoparticles, the carbon-based nanomaterials have distinct advantages in both biotechnological and biomedical applications due to their inherent biocompatibility. Fluorescent nanodiamond (FND) joined the nanocarbon family in 2005. It was initially developed as a contrast agent for bioimaging because it can emit bright red photoluminescence from negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy centers built in the diamond matrix. A notable application of this technology is to study the cytoplasmic dynamics of living cells by tracking single bioconjugated FNDs in intracellular medium. This article provides a critical review on recent advances and developments of such single particle tracking (SPT) research. It summarizes SPT and related studies of FNDs in cells (such as cancer cell lines) and organisms (including zebrafish embryos, fruit fly embryos, whole nematodes, and mice) using assorted imaging techniques.