Due to the unique optical, thermal and chemical properties, especially with the help of surface modification technology, gold nanoparticles (AuNP) have attracted much attention in the biology application. Among these applications, AuNP molecular beacon (MB), AuNPs functionalized by hair-pin shaped oligonucleotides, is considered as a promising probe for RNA detections in cells through its higher signalto-noise ratio, biocompatibility and high selectivity. In this thesis, the AuNP MB is studied in two phases: in solution and in vitro. In the solution part, time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy was applied to study the performance of AuNP MB at various complementary DNA concentrations and to reveal the fluorescence quenching efficiency of the AuNP. In the in vitro study, flow cytometry was employed to compare the fluorescence intensity of AuNP MB in normal cells and tumour cells. This work demonstrated the possibility of differentiating tumour cells from benign cells using this technique.
| Date of Award | 20 Sep 2017 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Awarding Institution | - University Of Strathclyde
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| Sponsors | University of Strathclyde |
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