Dataset Information

Toward a molecular understanding of nanoparticle-protein interactions.

ABSTRACT: Wherever nanoparticles (NPs) come in contact with a living organism, physical and chemical interactions take place between the surfaces of the NPs and biomatter, in particular proteins. When NP are exposed to biological fluids, an adsorption layer of proteins, a "protein corona" forms around the NPs. Consequently, living systems interact with the protein-coated NP rather than with a bare NP. To anticipate biological responses to NPs, we thus require comprehensive knowledge of the interactions at the bio-nano interface. In recent years, a wide variety of biophysical techniques have been employed to elucidate mechanistic aspects of NP-protein interactions. In this brief review, we present the latest findings regarding the composition of the protein corona as it forms on NPs in the blood stream. We also discuss molecular aspects of this adsorption layer and its time evolution. The current state of knowledge is summarized, and issues that still need to be addressed to further advance our understanding of NP-protein interactions are identified.

SUBMITTER: Treuel L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5418382 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Toward a molecular understanding of nanoparticle-protein interactions.

Treuel Lennart L Nienhaus Gerd Ulrich GU

Biophysical reviews 20120315 2

Wherever nanoparticles (NPs) come in contact with a living organism, physical and chemical interactions take place between the surfaces of the NPs and biomatter, in particular proteins. When NP are exposed to biological fluids, an adsorption layer of proteins, a "protein corona" forms around the NPs. Consequently, living systems interact with the protein-coated NP rather than with a bare NP. To anticipate biological responses to NPs, we thus require comprehensive knowledge of the interactions at ...[more]

PMID: 28510093

Similar Datasets

Project description:The use of nanoparticles (NPs) in biology and medicine requires a molecular-level understanding of how NPs interact with cells in a physiological environment. A critical difference between well-controlled in vitro experiments and in vivo applications is the presence of a complex mixture of extracellular proteins. It has been established that extracellular serum proteins present in blood will adsorb onto the surface of NPs, forming a "protein corona". Our goal was to understand how this protein layer affected cellular-level events, including NP binding, internalization, and transport. A combination of microscopy, which provides spatial resolution, and spectroscopy, which provides molecular information, is necessary to probe protein-NP-cell interactions. Initial experiments used a model system composed of polystyrene NPs functionalized with either amine or carboxylate groups to provide a cationic or anionic surface, respectively. Serum proteins adsorb onto the surface of both cationic and anionic NPs, forming a net anionic protein-NP complex. Although these protein-NP complexes have similar diameters and effective surface charges, they show the exact opposite behavior in terms of cellular binding. In the presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA), the cellular binding of BSA-NP complexes formed from cationic NPs is enhanced, whereas the cellular binding of BSA-NP complexes formed from anionic NPs is inhibited. These trends are independent of NP diameter or cell type. Similar results were obtained for anionic quantum dots and colloidal gold nanospheres. Using competition assays, we determined that BSA-NP complexes formed from anionic NPs bind to albumin receptors on the cell surface. BSA-NP complexes formed from cationic NPs are redirected to scavenger receptors. The observation that similar NPs with identical protein corona compositions bind to different cellular receptors suggested that a difference in the structure of the adsorbed protein may be responsible for the differences in cellular binding of the protein-NP complexes. Circular dichroism spectroscopy, isothermal titration calorimetry, and fluorescence spectroscopy show that the structure of BSA is altered following incubation with cationic NPs, but not anionic NPs. Single-particle-tracking fluorescence microscopy was used to follow the cellular internalization and transport of protein-NP complexes. The single particle-tracking experiments show that the protein corona remains bound to the NP throughout endocytic uptake and transport. The interaction of protein-NP complexes with cells is a challenging question, as the adsorbed protein corona controls the interaction of the NP with the cell; however, the NP itself alters the structure of the adsorbed protein. A combination of microscopy and spectroscopy is necessary to understand this complex interaction, enabling the rational design of NPs for biological and medical applications.

Dataset Information

Toward a molecular understanding of nanoparticle-protein interactions.

Publications

Toward a molecular understanding of nanoparticle-protein interactions.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets