Abstract

In this study, a cell labelling method is presented using biocompatible europium doped hydroxyapatite (Eu-HAP) inorganic nanoparticles. Eu-HAP nanoparticles were successfully prepared by precipitation method and utilized to label Bel-7402 human liver cancer cells as fluorescent probe. After Eu-HAP nanoparticles were internalized by cells, the strong green fluorescence and the red fluorescence were observed with excitation of blue light and green light respectively. Results show that the Eu-HAP nanoparticles exhibit the potential to become valuable biocompatible fluorescent labelling material in biological studies.

Keywords: Europium doped hydroxyapatite, Inorganic nanoparticles, Cell labelling, Fluorescent probe