A turn-on fluorescence sensor for rapid sensing of ATP based on luminescence resonance energy transfer between upconversion nanoparticles and Cy3 in vivo or vitro

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is an energy molecule of significant importance, and, the monitoring of ATP in living cells is considerable for the clinical diagnosis of many related diseases, including cancer. Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have recently been attracting widespread interest in biomedical applications due to their chemical and thermal stability, high sensitivity, good biocompatibility, and excellent tissue penetration. Herein, a Cy3-aptamer-cDNA- UCNPs nanosensor was synthesized, based on the luminescence resonance energy transfer (LRET) between UCNPs and Cy3 for monitoring ATP in living cells. It showed a selective sensing ability for ATP levels by changes of fluorescence intensity of UNCPs at 536 nm. The investigated biosensor showed a precise, efficient detection with sufficient selectivity which was achieved through the optimization of conditions. In the range of 1–1000 μM, the ATP-induced changes of the fluorescence intensity were linearly proportional to the ATP concentrations. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity assay revealed that the UCNPs sensor exhibited favorable biocompatibility, implicating the use of UCNPs in vivo imaging. This study highlights the potential of using a combination of UCNPs and ATP-binding aptamer to design an ATP-activatable probe for fluorescence-mediated imaging in living cells. These results implied that the nanosensor can be applicable for the monitoring of intracellular ATP by fluorescence imaging and the quantitative analysis of biological liquids.