Carbohydrate-conjugated fluorescent silica nanoprobes for selective detection of galectin-1 and prostate cancer cells.

Carbohydrate-conjugated fluorescent silica nanoprobes were prepared and used as a platform for galectin-1 and prostate cancer cell detection. The nanoparticles were efficiently conjugated using native, unprotected carbohydrate structures following a photochemical approach, resulting in lactose- and cellobiose-conjugated probes, respectively. The probes were used to challenge binding to galectin-1, an overexpressed galactose-selective lectin at prostate cancer cell surfaces, and the results show that lactose-conjugated nanoprobes exhibit differential binding behavior with prostate cancer cells and normal prostate cells. In particular, lactose-conjugated fluorescent silica nanoparticles showed specific binding to PC3 cells pre-treated with a reducing agent. The results indicate that galectin-1 expression and galectin-1-selective nanoparticles are potentially useful for sensitive and selective detection of prostate cancer.