Functional surface engineering of quantum dot hydrogels for selective fluorescence imaging of extracellular lactate release

Selective and sensitive detection of extracellular lactate is of fundamental significance for studying the metabolic alterations in tumor progression. Here we report the rational design and synthesis of a quantum-dot-hydrogel-based fluorescent probe for biosensing and bioimaging the extracellular lactate. By surface engineering the destabilized quantum dot sol with Nile Blue, the destabilized Nile-Blue-functionalized quantum dot sol cannot only self-assemble forming quantum dot hydrogel but also monitor lactate in the presence of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide cofactor and lactate dehydrogenase through fluorescence resonance energy transfer. Notably, the surface engineered quantum dot hydrogel show high selectivity toward lactate over common metal ions, amino acids and other small molecules that widely coexist in biological system. Moreover, the destabilized Nile-Blue-functionalized quantum dots can encapsulate isolated cancer cells when self-assembled into a hydrogel and thus specifically detect and image the extracellular lactate metabolism. By virtue of these properties, the functionalized quantum dot hydrogel was further successfully applied to monitor the effect of metabolic agents.