Effect of peptide-conjugated near-infrared fluorescent quantum dots (NIRF-QDs) on the invasion and metastasis of human tongue squamous cell carcinoma cell line Tca8113 in vitro.

In this study we investigated the effect of near-infrared fluorescent quantum dots (NIRF-QDs, QTracker) on the proliferation, adherence, invasion and chemotaxis of human tongue squamous cell carcinoma cell line Tca8113 in vitro. Cell proliferation and colony formation rate were determined by using a hemocytometer and culture plate. A transwell chamber assay was used to determine the cell invasion, adherence and chemotaxis. The results showed that there was no significant difference between the results of Tca8113 cells labeled with NIRF-QD800 and those of unlabeled Tca8113 cells, suggesting that the proliferation, invasion, adherence and chemotaxis of Tca8113 cells were not affected by NIRF-QD800. These results provide a basis for the further utilization of NIRF-QDs in non-invasive imaging and tracking of tumor cells in vivo.