SERS Endoscopy for Monitoring Intracellular Drug Dynamics

Understandingthe dynamics and distribution of medicinaldrugsin living cells is essential for the design and discovery of treatments.The tools available for revealing this information are, however, extremelylimited. Here, we report the application of surface-enhanced Ramanscattering (SERS) endoscopy, using plasmonic nanowires as SERS probes,to monitor the intracellular fate and dynamics of a common chemo-drug,doxorubicin, in A549 cancer cells. The unique spatio-temporal resolutionof this technique reveals unprecedented information on the mode ofaction of doxorubicin: its localization in the nucleus, its complexationwith medium components, and its intercalation with DNA as a functionof time. Notably, we were able to discriminate these factors for thedirect administration of doxorubicin or the use of a doxorubicin deliverysystem. The results reported here show that SERS endoscopy may havean important future role in medicinal chemistry for studying the dynamicsand mechanism of action of drugs in cells.

Automated summary

Using surface-enhanced Raman scattering endoscopy, we monitored the intracellular fate and dynamics of the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin in A549 cancer cells. This technique provided unprecedented information on the mode of action of doxorubicin, including its localization in the nucleus, complexation with medium components, and intercalation with DNA over time. The results suggest that surface-enhanced Raman scattering endoscopy has potential in studying the dynamics and mechanism of action of drugs in cells.