Figure 1From: Selective targeting of microglia by quantum dots Selective uptake of QDs by microglia in mixed primary cortical cultures. A. In mixed primary cortical cultures from rats, QDs (red) were internalized primarily by microglia labeled with anti-CD11b (green) or anti-Iba-1 (green) antibodies. Nuclei were labeled with DAPI (blue). Scale bar, 50 μm. Inset, higher magnification of a QD-containing microglia cell labeled with Iba-1 antibody. B, C. QDs (red) were not found in astrocytes labeled with anti-GFAP (green, B) or in neurons labeled with anti-MAP2 (green, C). Scale bar, 50 μm. D. Fluorescence intensity of QDs in microglia increased with time of incubation. n = 30-100 cells from 5-6 independent images measured with Metamorph analyses. * P < 0.05 (24 h vs. 48 h), *** P < 0.001 (3 h vs. 8 h, and 8 h vs. 24 h); one-way ANOVA with Tukey-Kramer posthoc analyses. Error bars represent SEM. E. QDs (red) were not detected in apoptotic or necrotic cells labeled with Annexin V/Sytox green (green). Scale bar, 50 μm. F. Microglial internalization of QD655 conjugated with polyethylene glycol (QD655-PEG), PEG-streptavidin (QD655-PEG-Strep), or -COO- (QD655-Carboxyl) in mixed cortical cultures. Red: QDs; green: Iba-1-positive microglia. Scale bar, 50 μm.Back to article page