Issue 1, 2016

Protein-specific Raman imaging of glycosylation on single cells with zone-controllable SERS effect

Abstract

A zone-controllable SERS effect is presented for Raman imaging of protein-specific glycosylation on a cell surface using two types of newly designed nanoprobes. The signal probe, prepared using a Raman signal molecule and dibenzocyclooctyne-amine to functionalize a 10 nm Au nanoparticle, exhibits a negligible SERS effect and can recognize and link the azide-tagged glycan via a click reaction. The substrate probe, an aptamer modified 30 or 40 nm Au nanoparticles, can specifically recognize the target protein to create an efficient SERS zone on the target protein. By controlling the size of the substrate probe to match the expression zone of the protein-specific glycan, an efficient SERS signal can be generated. This method has been successfully used for in situ imaging of sialic acids on the target protein EpCAM on an MCF-7 cell surface and for the monitoring of the expression variation of protein-specific glycosylation during drug treatment. The concept of zone control can also be used to measure the distance between glycoproteins on a cell surface. This protocol shows promise in uncovering glycosylation-related biological processes.

Graphical abstract: Protein-specific Raman imaging of glycosylation on single cells with zone-controllable SERS effect

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
21 Sep 2015
Accepted
15 Oct 2015
First published
16 Oct 2015
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2016,7, 569-574

Author version available

Protein-specific Raman imaging of glycosylation on single cells with zone-controllable SERS effect

Y. Chen, L. Ding, W. Song, M. Yang and H. Ju, Chem. Sci., 2016, 7, 569 DOI: 10.1039/C5SC03560K

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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