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Functionalized CdSe/ZnS Quantum Dots for Intracellular pH Measurements by Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy.

pH is an important biomarker for many human diseases and great efforts are being made to develop new pH-probes for bioimaging and biomedical applications. Here, the use of three different CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs), functionalized with D penicillamine and small peptides, as pH-probes for fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) is investigated. The fluorescence pH-sensitivity of the nanoparticles is analyzed in different experimental media: aqueous solution, synthetic intracellular medium as well as mesenchymal C3H10T1/2 and tumoral SK-MEL-2 cell lines. Different experiments along with theoretical calculations are conducted to unravel the mechanisms causing pH-sensitivity of the nanoparticles and the effect of the length and composition of the peripheral branches on their photophysical properties. Absolute intracellular pH values measured in live cells with FLIM using a fluorescent probe based on a QD are reported, here, for the first time (intracellular pH values of 7.0 and 7.1 for C3H10T1/2 and SK-MEL-2 cells, respectively). These fluorescent nanoprobes can also be used to distinguish between different types of cells in co-cultures on the basis of their different fluorescence lifetimes in dissimilar intracellular environments.