Crossing the Blood–Brain–Barrier with Transferrin Conjugated Carbon Dots: A Zebrafish Model Study

Authors

Shanghao Li, University of Miami
Zhili Peng, University of Miami
Julia Dallman, University of Miami
James Baker, University of Miami
Abdelhameed M. Othman, Taibah University - Yanbu, Saudi Arabia; University of Sadat City - Egypt
Patricia Blackwelder, University of Miami, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow
Roger M. Leblanc, University of Miami

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces

ISSN

0927-7765

Publication Date

9-1-2016

Keywords

Blood-brain-barrier, Carbon dots, Central nervous system, Transferrin

Abstract

Drug delivery to the central nervous system (CNS) in biological systems remains a major medical challenge due to the tight junctions between endothelial cells known as the blood–brain–barrier (BBB). Here we use a zebrafish model to explore the possibility of using transferrin-conjugated carbon dots (C-Dots) to ferry compounds across the BBB. C-Dots have previously been reported to inhibit protein fibrillation, and they are also used to deliver drugs for disease treatment. In terms of the potential medical application of C-Dots for the treatment of CNS diseases, one of the most formidable challenges is how to deliver them inside the CNS. To achieve this in this study, human transferrin was covalently conjugated to C-Dots. The conjugates were then injected into the vasculature of zebrafish to examine the possibility of crossing the BBB in vivo via transferrin receptor-mediated endocytosis. The experimental observations suggest that the transferrin-C-Dots can enter the CNS while C-Dots alone cannot.

DOI

10.1016/j.colsurfb.2016.05.007

Volume

145

First Page

251

Last Page

256

Comments

©2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Additional Comments

NSF grant #: 1355317

NSUWorks Citation

Shanghao Li, Zhili Peng, Julia Dallman, James Baker, Abdelhameed M. Othman, Patricia Blackwelder, and Roger M. Leblanc. 2016. Crossing the Blood–Brain–Barrier with Transferrin Conjugated Carbon Dots: A Zebrafish Model Study .Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces : 251 -256. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_facarticles/973.