The study of the interactions between biofunctionalized gold nanoclusters (Au NCs) and spermatozoa is highly relevant to evaluate the potential of Au NCs as imaging probes and transfection agents in reproductive biology. In this work, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) was used to investigate the distribution of Au NCs bioconjugated with peptide (nuclear localisation sequence, NLS) and oligonucleotide (locked nucleic acid, LNA) ligands in bovine spermatozoa. Fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) was employed to detect changes in the NC's chemical environment. We observed a pronounced regio-selective accumulation of the bioconjugates in spermatozoa with high concentration at the equatorial segment. Furthermore, 3D-CLSM showed successful non-endosomal cellular uptake of the conjugates by intact sperm cells and the distribution of the bioconjugates was found to be influenced by the ligand types. Interestingly, the FLIM data showed differences in lifetime depending on membrane integrity. Furthermore, ligand-dependent changes in lifetime between NC bioconjugates carrying peptide and oligonucleotide ligands were found, probably attributed to specific interactions with sperm cell compartments.
Keywords: Confocal laser scanning microscopy; Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy; Gold nanocluster-bioconjugates; Intact and defective sperm membrane; Sperm cells.
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