Uptake of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Conjugated with DNA by Microvascular Endothelial Cells

Figure 2

Distribution and fluorescence intensity of SWCNT-DNA-FITC (2 μg/mL) and DNA-FITC (2 μg/mL) at various time intervals within 48 hrs. (a) Representative projection images suggest that SWCNT-DNA-FITC conjugates are distributed in microvascular EC nuclei (lower panel); DNA-FITC appears to be restricted to the cytoplasm (upper panel). (b) SWCNT-facilitated DNA transport into microvascular ECs. Fluorescence intensity was quantitatively assessed by measuring optical density of confocal images as described in Materials and Methods. The 𝑃-values less than 0.05 and 0.01 are expressed as * and **, respectively (𝑛 = 3–11). The scale bar is applicable to all images.