The application of quantum dots for the melanoma tumor in vivo imaging

Objective: Over the past decade, fluorescent semiconductor nanocrystals, also known as quantum dots (QDs), have been applied in biomedical imaging in vitro and in vivo because of their fascinating optical properties. In this work, we investigated the application of CdTe QDs for tumor fluorescence in vivo imaging. Methods: The transparent dorsal skin fold window chamber (DSFC) was constructed on the 4~6 week-old BALB/c mice. The melanoma cells stably expressing green fluorescent protein ---ZsGreen were transplanted into the chamber and the melanoma DSFC model was established successfully. The water soluble CdTe QDs were synthesized and then administrated in the model through the tail intravenous injection. The fluorescent expression of B16 cells were assayed by fluorescent microscopy, the tumor growth, the blood capillaries distributions and its dynamic changes were observed by stereomicroscopy and laser scanning confocal microscopy. Results: The results demonstrated that the expression efficiency of ZsGreen was 41%, which met the experimental requirement. The tumors was visible inside the chamber after implantation of melanoma cells for 5~6 days, while no obvious changes in mice behaviors were found. After injection of the QDs, CdTe QDs accumulated at the invading edge of a range of solid tumor. We could also observe the tumor cells growth near the blood vessels, the angiogenesis occurred inside the tumor and the local blood capillaries increased. Conclusions: This work provided a new strategy for the tumor in vivo imaging and the development of targeted antineoplastic drugs.