Protein‐Directed Solution‐Phase Green Synthesis of BSA‐Conjugated M x Se y (M=Ag, Cd, Pb, Cu) Nanomaterials

Protein-stabilized Ir nanoparticles with usual charge-selective peroxidase properties

Selective removal of an organic compound in the coexistence of other constituents is a great challenge in separation and purification processes. In this work, bovine serum albumin (BSA)-stabilized iridium nanoparticles (IrNPs) were prepared via a facile one-step precipitation method. The resulting BSA-IrNPs were comprehensively characterized by TEM, XRD, XPS, UV-vis, FT-IR, and fluorescence spectroscopy as well as circular dichroism spectrometry. It was found that the nanoparticles with an average diameter of 3.6 nm were embedded in the aggregated protein matrix and the structure of the coating agent was maintained well on the surface of nanoparticles. The as-prepared nanozymes (BSA-IrNPs) exhibit strong peroxidase-like activity and can selectively catalyse the degradation of cationic compounds by H₂O₂ in the coexistence of other inorganic or organic substances at room temperature. Interestingly, the degradation of amino acids could be precisely controlled by adjusting the pH above or below their isoelectric points. The catalytic selectivity of BSA-IrNPs should be ascribed to the anchoring effect between the amidogen-containing molecules and BSA through electrostatic adsorption. The nanozyme also exhibits excellent reusability as it can be readily recycled from solution by static settlement or centrifugation. Therefore, BSA-IrNPs have great potential for the selective removal of cationic compounds and amino acids in a complex matrix.

Inlaying Radiosensitizer onto the Polypeptide Shell of Drug-Loaded Ferritin for Imaging and Combinational Chemo-Radiotherapy

Rationale: Ferritin with unique hollow cavity is an emerging protein-based nanoplatform for anticancer-drug delivery, but the in vivo chemotherapeutic effectiveness is still unsatisfactory with such a monotherapy modality, which is urgently in need of improvement. Methods: Here a novel ferritin nanotheranostic with anticancer-drug doxorubicin encapsulated into its hollow interior and nanoradiosensitizer bismuth sulfide nanocrystals inlayed onto its polypeptide shell was synthesized for combinational therapeutic benefits. The formation mechanism of bismuth sulfide nanocrystals based on ferritin has been analyzed. The in vitro and in vivo treatment effects were carried out on HeLa cancer cells and tumor-bearing mice, respectively. The biocompatibility and excretion of the ferritin nanotheranostic have also been evaluated to guarantee their biosafety. Results: The polypeptide shell of ferritin provides nucleation sites for the bismuth sulfide nanocrystals through coordination interaction, and simultaneously inhibits the further growth of bismuth sulfide nanocrystals, rendering the bismuth sulfide nanocrystals like rivets inlaying onto the polypeptide firmly, which can not only strengthen the architectural stability of ferritin to prevent drug burst leakage during systemic circulation, but also act as excellent computed tomography contrast agents and nanoradiosensitizers for in vivo imaging-guided cancer combinational treatments. Conclusions: The design concept of inlaying bismuth sulfide nanocrystals onto the polypeptide shell of doxorubicin-encapsulated ferritin significantly inhibits the tumor growth and simultaneously further broadens the application of ferritin in nanomedicine.

Crustin-capped selenium nanowires against microbial pathogens and Japanese encephalitis mosquito vectors - Insights on their toxicity and internalization

Herein, we reported a method to synthesize selenium nanowires (Cr-SeNWs) relying to purified cysteine-rich antimicrobial peptide crustin in presence of ascorbic acid. Cr-SeNWs were characterized by UV-vis, XRD, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, as well as SEM, HR-TEM and EDAX. The UV-vis spectroscopy peak was noted at 350 nm. XRD showed the crystalline nature of Cr-SeNWs through diffraction peaks observed 2θ at 12° and 28° corresponding to (020), and (241) lattice planes, respectively. HR-TEM results shed light on the size of Cr-SeNWs, ranging from 17 to 47 nm. Raman spectroscopy and EDAX analysis of Cr-SeNWs showed presence of 57% selenium element. Furthermore, Cr-SeNWs showed higher antimicrobial activity on Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis) over Gram-negative ones (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli). The zone of inhibition was larger on S. aureus (50 μg/ml = 4.0 mm, 75 μg/ml = 7.2 mm) and E. faecalis (50 μg/ml = 3.1 mm, 75 μg/ml = 5.1 mm), over P. aeruginosa (50 μg/ml = 2.1 mm, 75 μg/ml = 4.8 mm), E. coli (50 μg/ml = 1.3 mm, 75 μg/ml = 4.3 mm) bacteria. The antibiofilm activity of Cr-SeNWs was also investigated and biofilm reduction was observed at 75 μg/ml. In addition, Cr-SeNWs were highly effective as larvicides against Zika virus and Japanese encephalitis mosquito vectors, i.e., Culex quinquefasciatus and Culex tritaeniorhynchus, with LC₅₀ values of 4.15 and 4.85 mg/l, respectively. The nanowire toxicity and internalization was investigated through confocal laser scanning microscopy and histological studies. To investigate the potential of Cr-SeNWs for real-world applications, we also evaluated Cr-SeNWs in hemolytic assays, showing no cytotoxicity till 5 mg/ml. Besides, higher antioxidant activity at the concentration at 100 μg/ml was noted, if compared with purified crustin. The strong antioxidant potential of this nanomaterial can be helpful to boost the shelf-life potential of Cr-SeNWs-based pesticides and antimicrobials.

Hybridization of Metal Nanoparticles with Metal-Organic Frameworks Using Protein as Amphiphilic Stabilizer

Here, a facile strategy is reported to efficiently hybridize metal nanoparticles (MNPs) with typical metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) of ZIF-8 (zeolitic imidazolate framework-8), which employs bovine serum albumin (BSA, a serum albumin protein derived from cows) as the amphiphilic stabilizer to increase the affinity of MNP toward MOFs. For instance, the as-synthesized PdNPs/ZIF-8 composites with diameter from 100 to 200 nm always maintain well-defined crystalline structure, and the PdNPs with small size of ∼2 nm are well-dispersed in the crystal of MOFs without serious aggregations due to the BSA stabilizer. In Suzuki cross-coupling reactions of aryl halide, the PdNPs/ZIF-8 as catalysts have exhibited high activity and satisfied reusability owing to the use of BSA stabilizer as well as the fixing of MOFs matrixes. In addition, the strategy also can be extended to synthesize other kinds of MNPs/MOFs hybrid composites with tunable particle size, which brings more opportunity for functional MOFs hybrid materials.

Albumin-Mediated Biomineralization of Shape-Controllable and Biocompatible Ceria Nanomaterials

Although ceria-based nanostructures have emerged as fascinating materials with diverse biological activities, developing a facile, rapid, and biocompatible method of their preparation remains a major challenge. Herein we describe bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein-directed synthesis of ceria-based nanostructures, including ceria nanoclusters (CNLs), nanoparticles (CNPs), and nanochains (CNHs). Their preparation is simple, one-pot, and performed in a mild reaction condition with a "green" synthetic approach. Most importantly, these three kinds of ceria-based nanostructures can be synthesized in a shape and size controllable manner by tuning the reaction time, temperature, and molar ratio. The formation mechanism shows that growth of these ceria nanostructures is mediated by Ce³⁺/Ce⁴⁺ switchable redox system, reducible disulfide bonds, and unique spatial structures in albumin proteins. More importantly, these albumin-based ceria nanostructures exhibit high superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimetic activity and good biocompatibility, providing a promising prospect in biomedical application.

Protein-Modified CuS Nanotriangles: A Potential Multimodal Nanoplatform for In Vivo Tumor Photoacoustic/Magnetic Resonance Dual-Modal Imaging

Controllable preparation of water-soluble multifunctional nanoprobes is of great significance for cancer early diagnosis. In this study, protein-modified hydrophilic copper sufide (CuS) nanotriangles with tunable absorption in the second near-infrared region are developed in the presence of halide ions. Further, gadolinium ions chelated diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid is conjugated on it by using the unique characteristics of the protein-protected nanotriangles. Specifically, the as-obtained nanostructures are investigated as contrast agents for enhanced in vivo photoacoustic/magnetic resonance dual-modal tumor imaging. More importantly, in vitro and in vivo toxicity analysis are also performed, which show that the dual-modal nanoprobes are biocompatible for most of the cases. It is demonstrated that the novel as-prepared protein-modified nanotriangles are able to work as a nanoplatform to construct dual-modal nanoprobes, which paves a new avenue for improving the photoacoustic/magnetic resonance imaging contrast in cancer detection. It should be pointed out that other functional blocks may also be linked on it, which makes it a general method to design multifunctional nanoprobes.

Biomineralization-Inspired Synthesis of Copper Sulfide-Ferritin Nanocages as Cancer Theranostics

It is essential to control the size and morphology of nanoparticles strictly in nanomedicine. Protein cages offer significant potential for templated synthesis of inorganic nanoparticles. In this study, we successfully synthesized ultrasmall copper sulfide (CuS) nanoparticles inside the cavity of ferritin (Fn) nanocages by a biomimetic synthesis method. The uniform CuS-Fn nanocages (CuS-Fn NCs) showed strong near-infrared absorbance and high photothermal conversion efficiency. In quantitative ratiometric photoacoustic imaging (PAI), the CuS-Fn NCs exhibited superior photoacoustic tomography improvements for real-time in vivo PAI of entire tumors. With the incorporation of radionuclide (64)Cu, (64)CuS-Fn NCs also served as an excellent PET imaging agent with higher tumor accumulation compared to free copper. Following the guidance of PAI and PET, CuS-Fn NCs were applied in photothermal therapy to achieve superior cancer therapeutic efficiency with good biocompatibility both in vitro and in vivo. The results demonstrate that the bioinspired multifunctional CuS-Fn NCs have potential as clinically translatable cancer theranostics and could provide a noninvasive, highly sensitive, and quantitative in vivo guiding method for cancer photothermal therapies in experimental and clinical settings.

Protein-based photothermal theranostics for imaging-guided cancer therapy

The development of imageable photothermal theranostics has attracted considerable attention for imaging guided photothermal therapy (PTT) with high tumor ablation accuracy. In this study, we strategically constructed a near-infrared (NIR) cyanine dye by introducing a rigid cyclohexenyl ring to the heptamethine chain to obtain a heptamethine dye CySCOOH with high fluorescence intensity and good stability. By covalent conjugation of CySCOOH onto human serum albumin (HSA), the as-prepared HSA@CySCOOH nanoplatform is highly efficient for NIR fluorescence/photoacoustic/thermal multimodality imaging and photothermal tumor ablation. The theranostic capability of HSA@CySCOOH was systematically evaluated both in vitro and in vivo. Most intriguingly, complete tumor elimination was achieved by intravenous injection of HSA@CySCOOH (CySCOOH, 1 mg kg(-1); 808 nm, 1.0 W cm(-2) for 5 min) into 4T1 tumor-bearing mice, with no weight loss, noticeable toxicity, or tumor recurrence being observed. This as-prepared protein-based nanotheranostics exhibits high water dispersibility, no off target cytotoxicity, and good biodegradability and biocompatibility, thus facilitating its clinical translation to cancer photothermal theranostics.

PET and NIR optical imaging using self-illuminating (64)Cu-doped chelator-free gold nanoclusters

Self-illuminating fluorescence imaging without autofluorescence background interference has recently aroused more research interests in molecular imaging. Currently, only a few self-illuminating probes were developed, based mainly on toxic quantum dots such as CdSe, CdTe. Herein, we report a novel design of nontoxic self-illuminating gold nanocluster ((64)Cu-doped AuNCs) for dual-modality positron emission tomography (PET) and near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging based on Cerenkov resonance energy transfer (CRET). PET radionuclide (64)Cu was introduced by a chelator-free doping method, which played dual roles as the energy donor and the PET imaging source. Meanwhile, AuNCs acted as the energy acceptor for NIR fluorescence imaging. (64)Cu-doped AuNCs exhibited efficient CRET-NIR and PET imaging both in vitro and in vivo. In a U87MG glioblastoma xenograft model, (64)Cu-doped AuNCs showed high tumor uptake (14.9 %ID/g at 18 h) and produced satisfactory tumor self-illuminating NIR images in the absence of external excitation. This self-illuminating nanocluster with non-toxicity and good biocompatibility can be employed as a novel imaging contrast agent for biomedical applications, especially for molecular imaging.

VEGF-loaded graphene oxide as theranostics for multi-modality imaging-monitored targeting therapeutic angiogenesis of ischemic muscle

Herein we report the design and synthesis of multifunctional VEGF-loaded IR800-conjugated graphene oxide (GO-IR800-VEGF) for multi-modality imaging-monitored therapeutic angiogenesis of ischemic muscle. The as-prepared GO-IR800-VEGF positively targets VEGF receptors, maintains an elevated level of VEGF in ischemic tissues for a prolonged time, and finally leads to remarkable therapeutic angiogenesis of ischemic muscle. Although more efforts are required to further understand the in vivo behaviors and the long-term toxicology of GO, our work demonstrates the success of using GO for efficient VEGF delivery in vivo by intravenous administration and suggests the great promise of using graphene oxide in theranostic applications for treating ischemic disease.

Biomimetic one-pot synthesis of gold nanoclusters/nanoparticles for targeted tumor cellular dual-modality imaging

Biomimetic synthesis has become a promising green pathway to prepare nanomaterials. In this study, bovine serum albumin (BSA)-conjugated gold nanoclusters/nanoparticles were successfully synthesized in water at room temperature by a protein-directed, solution-phase, green synthetic method. The synthesized BSA-Au nanocomplexes have fluorescence emission (588 nm) of gold nanoclusters and surface plasmon resonance of gold nanoparticles. The BSA-Au nanocomplexes display non-cytotoxicity and excellent biocompatibility on MGC803 gastric cancer cells. After conjugation of folic acid molecules, the obtained BSA-Au nanocomplexes showed highly selective targeting for MGC803 cells and dual-modality dark-field and fluorescence imaging.

Photosensitizer-conjugated silica-coated gold nanoclusters for fluorescence imaging-guided photodynamic therapy

Multifunctional theranostics have recently been intensively explored to optimize the efficacy and safety of therapeutic regimens. In this work, a photo-theranostic agent based on chlorin e6 (Ce6) photosensitizer-conjugated silica-coated gold nanoclusters (AuNCs@SiO2-Ce6) is strategically designed and prepared for fluorescence imaging-guided photodynamic therapy (PDT). The AuNCs@SiO2-Ce6 shows the following features: i) high Ce6 photosensitizer loading; ii) no non-specific release of Ce6 during its circulation; iii) significantly enhanced cellular uptake efficiency of Ce6, offering a remarkably improved photodynamic therapeutic efficacy compared to free Ce6; iv) subcellular characterization of the nanoformula via both the fluorescence of Ce6 and plasmon luminescence of AuNCs; v) fluorescence imaging-guided photodynamic therapy (PDT). This photo-theranostics owns good stability, high water dispersibility and solubility, non-cytotoxicity, and good biocompatibility, thus facilitating its biomedical applications, particularly for multi-modal optical, CT and photoacoustic (PA) imaging-guided PDT or sonodynamic therapy.

Hierarchically assembled Au microspheres and sea urchin-like architectures: formation mechanism and SERS study

The hierarchically assembled Au microspheres/sea urchin-like structures have been synthesized in aqueous solution at room temperature with and without proteins (bovine serum albumin, BSA) as mediators. The average diameter of an individual Au microsphere is 300-600 nm, which is composed of some compact nanoparticles with an average diameter of about 15 nm. Meanwhile, the sea urchin-like Au architecture exhibits an average diameter of 600-800 nm, which is made up of some nanopricks with an average length of 100-200 nm. These products are characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electronic microscopy (TEM). It is found that the BSA and ascorbic acid (AA) have great effects on the morphology of the resulting products. Two different growth mechanisms are proposed. The study on surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activities is also carried out between Au microspheres and Au sea urchin-like architectures. It is found that Au urchin-like architectures possess much higher SERS activity than the Au microspheres. Our work may shed light on the design and synthesis of hierarchically self-assembled 3D micro/nano-architectures for SERS, catalysis and biosensors.

Bio-mimetically synthesized Ag@BSA microspheres as a novel electrochemical biosensing interface for sensitive detection of tumor cells

The use of a novel cytosensor, comprised of bio-mimetically synthesized Ag@BSA composite microspheres, for the detection of KB cells (a model system) is described. The Ag@BSA composite microspheres were immobilized on Au electrodes via Au-thiol bonds. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images revealed that the Ag@BSA were well-dispersed microspheres with an average diameter of 500 nm, including the monolayer of BSA. The immobilization of Ag@BSA composite microspheres onto Au electrodes is thought to increase the electrode surface area and accelerate the electron transfer rate while providing a highly stable matrix for the convenient conjugation of target molecules (such as folic acid) and the prolonged incubation of cells. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies showed that the fabricated cytosensor was able to detect KB cells ranging from 6.0×10(1) to 1.2×10(8) cells mL(-1) with a lower detection limit of 20 cells mL(-1). Due to its facile synthesis, high stability and reproducibility and cytocompatibility, the novel cytosensor described here could find multifarious uses in applications, such as cancer diagnosis, drug screening and cell adhesion studies.

Egg white-mediated green synthesis of silver nanoparticles with excellent biocompatibility and enhanced radiation effects on cancer cells

A simple, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly approach to the aqueous-phase synthesis of silver (Ag) nanoparticles was demonstrated using silver nitrate (AgNO(3)) and freshly extracted egg white. The bio-conjugates were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, and dynamic light scattering. These results indicated that biomolecule-coated Ag nanoparticles are predominantly spherical in shape with an average size of 20 nm. The proteins of egg white, which have different functional groups, played important roles in reducing Ag(+) and maintaining product attributes such as stability and dispersity. In vitro cytotoxicity assays showed that these Ag-protein bio-conjugates showed good biocompatibility with mouse fibroblast cell lines 3T3. Furthermore, X-ray irradiation tests on 231 tumor cells suggested that the biocompatible Ag-protein bio-conjugates enhanced the efficacy of irradiation, and thus may be promising candidates for use during cancer radiation therapy.

Protein-directed one-pot synthesis of Ag microspheres with good biocompatibility and enhancement of radiation effects on gastric cancer cells

Biocompatible Ag@BSA microspheres were successfully synthesized via one-pot reaction in aqueous phase at room temperature by using BSA as soft templates. The individual Ag microsphere is composed of nanoscale Ag assemblies and shows enhanced radiation effects on gastric cancer cells.

A general strategy for the synthesis of upconversion rare earth fluoride nanocrystals via a novel OA/ionic liquid two-phase system

Herein we report a general strategy to synthesize highly uniform and monodisperse rare earth fluoride nanocrystals through a novel OA/ionic liquid two-phase system, while water-soluble hexagonal NaREF(4) nanocrystals are obtained by adding n-octanol.