Multifunctional surface modification of gold-stabilized nanoparticles by bioorthogonal reactions

Clickable bisreactive small gold nanoclusters for preparing multifunctionalized nanomaterials: application to photouncaging of an anticancer molecule

In this study, we successfully synthesized a small-sized gold nanocluster (2 nm) coated with homogeneous tripeptides bearing azido and amino groups that enable facile multifunctionalizations. Using sodium phenoxide to reduce tetrachloroauric(iii) acid in the presence of the cysteine-containing tripeptide, we efficiently prepared the gold nanoclusters without damaging the azido group. We then utilized this clickable bisreactive nanocluster as a versatile platform for synthesizing multifunctionalized gold nanomaterials. The resulting nanoclusters were conjugated with an anticancer compound connected to an indolizine moiety for photoinduced uncaging, a photodynamic therapy agent acting as a photosensitizer for uncaging, and a cyclic RGD peptide. The cytotoxicity of the multifunctionalized gold nanoclusters was demonstrated through red light irradiation of human lung cancer-derived A549 cells treated with the synthesized nanomaterials. The significant cytotoxicity exhibited by the cells underscores the potential utility of this method in advanced cancer therapies.

Size Dependency of Selective Cellular Uptake of Epigallocatechin Gallate-modified Gold Nanoparticles for Effective Radiosensitization

The high incidence and mortality of cancer make it a global health issue. However, conventional cancer therapies have several disadvantages, especially serious side effects due to low selective toxicity to cancer cells. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are an excellent drug carrier, enhance drug delivery efficiency, and hold promise for photothermal and radiation therapies. (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is the major polyphenolic antioxidant constituent of green tea, has a potent antitumor effect, and binds specifically to the 67 kDa laminin receptor, which is overexpressed on the surface of several cancer cell lines such as HeLa and MDA-MB-231 cells. We synthesized EGCG-modified AuNPs (EGCG-AuNPs) using ratios (n_EGCG/n_gold) from 1:2 to 10:1 and evaluated their size, morphology, stability, antioxidant ability, cytotoxicity, cellular uptake, and uptake mechanisms in vitro in comparison with the conventional AuNPs prepared by using citrate as the reducing agent (citrate-AuNPs). In HeLa cells, EGCG-AuNPs (10:1) (135 nm diameter, sea-urchin-like shape) exhibited the highest cellular uptake. Conversely, EGCG-AuNPs (1:2) (39 nm diameter, spherical shape) were preferentially taken up by MDA-MB-231 cells. Cellular uptake of EGCG-AuNPs toward normal cells (NIH3T3 cells) was found to be in a nonspecific manner, and the amount of uptake was suppressed. X-ray irradiation after cellular uptake of EGCG-AuNPs (1:2) in MDA-MB-231 cells significantly enhanced irradiation-induced cell death. These findings suggest enhanced cellular uptake of EGCG-AuNPs with a 39 nm diameter and their potential use in combinatorial therapeutics of EGCG-AuNPs for breast cancer.

Oriented immobilization of antibodies onto sensing platforms - A critical review

The immunosensor has been proven a versatile tool to detect various analytes, such as food contaminants, pathogenic bacteria, antibiotics and biomarkers related to cancer. To fabricate robust and reproducible immunosensors with high sensitivity, the covalent immobilization of immunoglobulins (IgGs) in a site-specific manner contributes to better performance. Instead of the random IgG orientations result from the direct yet non-selective immobilization techniques, this review for the first time introduces the advances of stepwise yet site-selective conjugation strategies to give better biosensing efficiency. Noncovalently adsorbing IgGs is the first but decisive step to interact specifically with the Fc fragment, then following covalent conjugate can fix this uniform and antigens-favorable orientation irreversibly. In this review, we first categorized this stepwise strategy into two parts based on the different noncovalent interactions, namely adhesive layer-mediated interaction onto homofunctional support and layer-free interaction onto heterofunctional support (which displays several different functionalities on its surface that are capable to interact with IgGs). Further, the influence of ligands characteristics (synthesis strategies, spacer requirements and matrices selection) on the heterofunctional support has also been discussed. Finally, conclusions and future perspectives for the real-world application of stepwise covalent conjugation are discussed. This review provides more insights into the fabrication of high-efficiency immunosensor, and special attention has been devoted to the well-orientation of full-length IgGs onto the sensing platform.

Clickable gold-nanoparticles as generic probe precursors for facile photoaffinity labeling application

Clickable photoreactive gold nanoparticles have been developed to facilitate one-step preparation of photoaffinity probes for bioactive small molecules and their application to target protein analysis.

Clickable gold nanoparticles for streamlining capture, enrichment and release of alkyne-labelled proteins

Alkyne-labelled proteins are generated as key intermediates in the chemical probe-based approaches to proteomics analysis. Their efficient and selective detection and isolation is an important problem. We designed and synthesized azide-functionalized gold nanoparticles as new clickable capture reagents to streamline click chemistry-mediated capture, enrichment and release of the alkyne-labelled proteins in one-pot to expedite the post-labelling analysis. Because hydrophobic surface functionalities are known to render gold nanoparticles poorly water-dispersible, hydrophilic PEG linkers with two different lengths were explored to confer colloidal stability to the clickable capture reagents. We demonstrated the ability of the capture reagents to conjugate the alkyne containing proteins at a nanomolar concentration via click chemistry, which can be immediately followed by their enrichment and elution. Furthermore, a bifunctional clickable capture reagent bearing sulforhodamine and azide groups was shown to conveniently attach a fluorophore to the alkyne-labelled protein upon click capture, which facilitated their rapid detection in the gel analysis.

Synthesis of saccharin-glycoconjugates targeting carbonic anhydrase using a one-pot cyclization/deprotection strategy

Carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX) has been identified as a biomarker and drug target for several malignant tumors due to its role in cancer cell growth and proliferation. Simple cyclic sulfonamides, like saccharin (SAC), have shown up to a 60-fold selectivity towards CA IX over other ubiquitous CA isoforms, with greater selectivity obtained applying the "tail-approach" to derivatize SAC with a methylene triazole linker that connected to a "tail" beta glucoside. These modifications of SAC led to an increased selectivity of more than 1000-fold towards CA IX, whereas clinically available CA inhibitors show little to no isoform selectivity. As part of our interest in the development of new CA inhibitors, we found the existing synthetic protocol, which relies on a N-tert-butyl saccharin intermediate, to be problematic in the final deprotection steps. We therefore describe an alternative approach to the synthesis of these compounds featuring a gentle "one pot" deprotection/cyclization as the final synthetic step, and report new galactosyl and glucosyl conjugates with low to mid nM inhibition of CA IX.

Specific dsDNA recognition by a mimic of the DNA binding domain of the c-Myc/Max transcription factor

We here report on the synthesis of the first mimic of the DNA binding domain of the c-Myc/Max-bHLH-ZIP transcription factor able to selectively recognize its cognate E-box sequence 5'-CACGTG-3' through the major groove of the double-stranded DNA. The designed peptidosteroid conjugate was shown to be effective as DNA binder in the presence of excess competitor DNA.

High-Performance Stretchable Conductive Composite Fibers from Surface-Modified Silver Nanowires and Thermoplastic Polyurethane by Wet Spinning

Highly stretchable and conductive fibers have attracted great interest as a fundamental building block for the next generation of textile-based electronics. Because of its high conductivity and high aspect ratio, the Ag nanowire (AgNW) has been considered one of the most promising conducting materials for the percolation network-based conductive films and composites. However, the poor dispersibility of AgNWs in hydrophobic polymers has hindered their application to stretchable conductive composite fibers. In this paper, we present a highly stretchable and conductive composite fiber from the co-spinning of surface-modified AgNWs and thermoplastic polyurethane (PU). The surface modification of AgNWs with a polyethylene glycol derivative improved the compatibility of PU and AgNWs, which allowed the NWs to disperse homogeneously in the elastomeric matrix, forming effective percolation networks and causing the composite fiber to show enhanced electrical and mechanical performance. The maximum AgNW mass fraction in the composite fiber was 75.9 wt %, and its initial electrical conductivity was as high as 14 205 S/cm. The composite fibers also exhibited superior stretchability: the maximum rupture strain of the composite fiber with 14.6 wt % AgNW was 786%, and the composite fiber was also conductive even when it was stretched up to 200%. In addition, 2-dimensional (2-D) Ag nanoplates were added to the AgNW/PU composite fibers to increase the stability of the conductive network under repeated stretching and releasing. The Ag nanoplates acted as a bridge to effectively prevent the AgNWs from slippage and greatly improved the stability of the conductive network.

The development of anticancer ruthenium(ii) complexes: from single molecule compounds to nanomaterials

Cancer is rapidly becoming the top killer in the world. Most of the FDA approved anticancer drugs are organic molecules, while metallodrugs are very scarce. The advent of the first metal based therapeutic agent, cisplatin, launched a new era in the application of transition metal complexes for therapeutic design. Due to their unique and versatile biochemical properties, ruthenium-based compounds have emerged as promising anti-cancer agents that serve as alternatives to cisplatin and its derivertives. Ruthenium(iii) complexes have successfully been used in clinical research and their mechanisms of anticancer action have been reported in large volumes over the past few decades. Ruthenium(ii) complexes have also attracted significant attention as anticancer candidates; however, only a few of them have been reported comprehensively. In this review, we discuss the development of ruthenium(ii) complexes as anticancer candidates and biocatalysts, including arene ruthenium complexes, polypyridyl ruthenium complexes, and ruthenium nanomaterial complexes. This review focuses on the likely mechanisms of action of ruthenium(ii)-based anticancer drugs and the relationship between their chemical structures and biological properties. This review also highlights the catalytic activity and the photoinduced activation of ruthenium(ii) complexes, their targeted delivery, and their activity in nanomaterial systems.

Alkali-etching growth of nest-like Ag@mTiO2 hierarchical nanostructures and their potential applications

Porous nanomaterials have attracted extensive interests in adsorption, catalysis, biosensors, and biomedicine due to their high surface area, well-defined pore structure and tunable pore size. However, how to obtain porous nanomaterials of desirable component and unique structure with multifunctionalities and synergetic properties is still a great challenge. In this work, a novel nest-like Ag@mTiO₂ hierarchical nanostructure with Ag nanoparticle as the core and a mesoporous crystalline TiO₂ as the protective shell was successfully prepared by layer-by-layer assembly technique and alkali-etching hydrothermal route. By simply changing the conditions of alkali etching, different nanostructures could be obtained, such as core-shell or rattle type. In the process, the thickness of coating silica layer and TiO₂ shell both played important roles for the formation of desired nanostructures. The as-prepared products had a large specific surface area of 301m²/g and a tailored TiO₂ outer shell. Raman spectra results showed perfect SERS signal of the tags enhanced and remained good stability even after one month. Doxycycline (Doxy) was chosen to evaluate their drug loading and controlled release properties. The results indicated that the obtained Ag@mTiO₂ nanoparticles exhibited good biocompatibility and excellent drug-loading capacity. Consequently, they are also expected to serve as ideal candidates for more potential applications including photocatalysis, drug controlled release, biosensor and cell imaging, etc.

Click Chemistry-Mediated Nanosensors for Biochemical Assays

Click chemistry combined with functional nanoparticles have drawn increasing attention in biochemical assays because they are promising in developing biosensors with effective signal transformation/amplification and straightforward signal readout for clinical diagnostic assays. In this review, we focus on the latest advances of biochemical assays based on Cu (I)-catalyzed 1, 3-dipolar cycloaddition of azides and alkynes (CuAAC)-mediated nanosensors, as well as the functionalization of nanoprobes based on click chemistry. Nanoprobes including gold nanoparticles, quantum dots, magnetic nanoparticles and carbon nanomaterials are covered. We discuss the advantages of click chemistry-mediated nanosensors for biochemical assays, and give perspectives on the development of click chemistry-mediated approaches for clinical diagnosis and other biomedical applications.

Paclitaxel-loaded phosphonated calixarene nanovesicles as a modular drug delivery platform

A modular p-phosphonated calix[4]arene vesicle (PCV) loaded with paclitaxel (PTX) and conjugated with folic acid as a cancer targeting ligand has been prepared using a thin film-sonication method. It has a pH-responsive capacity to trigger the release of the encapsulated PTX payload under mildly acidic conditions. PTX-loaded PCV conjugated with alkyne-modified PEG-folic acid ligands prepared via click ligation (fP-PCVPTX) has enhanced potency against folate receptor (FR)-positive SKOV-3 ovarian tumour cells over FR-negative A549 lung tumour cells. Moreover, fP-PCVPTX is also four times more potent than the non-targeting PCVPTX platform towards SKOV-3 cells. Overall, as a delivery platform the PCVs have the potential to enhance efficacy of anticancer drugs by targeting a chemotherapeutic payload specifically to tumours and triggering the release of the encapsulated drug in the vicinity of cancer cells.

Controlled Multi-functionalization Facilitates Targeted Delivery of Nanoparticles to Cancer Cells

A major objective of nanomedicine is to combine in a controlled manner multiple functional entities into a single nanoscale device to target particles with great spatial precision, thereby increasing the selectivity and potency of therapeutic drugs. A multifunctional nanoparticle is described for controlled conjugation of a cytotoxic drug, a cancer cell targeting ligand, and an imaging moiety. The approach is based on the chemical synthesis of polyethylene glycol that at one end is modified by a thioctic acid for controlled attachment to a gold core. The other end of the PEG polymers is modified by a hydrazine, amine, or dibenzocyclooctynol moiety for conjugation with functional entities having a ketone, activated ester, or azide moiety, respectively. The conjugation approach allowed the controlled attachment of doxorubicin through an acid-labile hydrazone linkage, an Alexa Fluor dye through an amide bond, and a glycan-based ligand for the cell surface receptor CD22 of B-cells using strain promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition. The incorporation of the ligand for CD22 led to rapid entry of the nanoparticle by receptor-mediated endocytosis. Covalent attachment of doxorubicin via hydrazone linkage caused pH-responsive intracellular release of doxorubicin and significantly enhanced the cytotoxicity of nanoparticles. A remarkable 60-fold enhancement in cytotoxicity of CD22 (+) lymphoma cells was observed compared to non- targeted nanoparticles.

Gold nanoparticle-based multivalent carbohydrate probes: selective photoaffinity labeling of carbohydrate-binding proteins

Multivalent carbohydrate photoaffinity probes were developed based on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to provide a streamlined approach toward identification of carbohydrate-binding proteins. By using AuNPs as scaffolds, a carbohydrate ligand and a photoreactive group could be readily assembled on a probe in a modular fashion, which greatly accelerated the process of optimizing the probe design. The novel AuNP-based probes serve dual functions by facilitating photoaffinity labeling and by directly enriching the crosslinked proteins by centrifugation. We demonstrated that their ability to enhance the affinity and to stringently remove nonspecific proteins allowed selective photoaffinity labeling and isolation of a low affinity carbohydrate-binding protein in cell lysate.

Reversible Control of Nanoparticle Functionalization and Physicochemical Properties by Dynamic Covalent Exchange

Existing methods for the covalent functionalization of nanoparticles rely on kinetically controlled reactions, and largely lack the sophistication of the preeminent oligonucleotide-based noncovalent strategies. Here we report the application of dynamic covalent chemistry for the reversible modification of nanoparticle (NP) surface functionality, combining the benefits of non-biomolecular covalent chemistry with the favorable features of equilibrium processes. A homogeneous monolayer of nanoparticle-bound hydrazones can undergo quantitative dynamic covalent exchange. The pseudomolecular nature of the NP system allows for the in situ characterization of surface-bound species, and real-time tracking of the exchange reactions. Furthermore, dynamic covalent exchange offers a simple approach for reversibly switching-and subtly tuning-NP properties such as solvophilicity.

Reversible control of nanoparticle functionalization and physicochemical properties by dynamic covalent exchange

Existing methods for the covalent functionalization of nanoparticles rely on kinetically controlled reactions, and largely lack the sophistication of the preeminent oligonucleotide-based noncovalent strategies. Here we report the application of dynamic covalent chemistry for the reversible modification of nanoparticle (NP) surface functionality, combining the benefits of non-biomolecular covalent chemistry with the favorable features of equilibrium processes. A homogeneous monolayer of nanoparticle-bound hydrazones can undergo quantitative dynamic covalent exchange. The pseudomolecular nature of the NP system allows for the in situ characterization of surface-bound species, and real-time tracking of the exchange reactions. Furthermore, dynamic covalent exchange offers a simple approach for reversibly switching—and subtly tuning—NP properties such as solvophilicity.

A colorimetric and ultrasensitive immunosensor for one-step pathogen detection via the combination of nanoparticle-triggered signal amplification and magnetic separation

Colorimetric and ultrasensitive immunosensor for one-step pathogen detection via the combination of nanoparticle-triggered signal amplification and magnetic separation.

Homopolymer bifunctionalization through sequential thiol–epoxy and esterification reactions: an optimization, quantification, and structural elucidation study

In this study, we probe various aspects of a post-polymerization double-modification strategy involving sequential thiol–epoxy and esterification reactions for the preparation of dual-functional homopolymers.

Multiply functionalized dendrimers: protective-group-free synthesis through sequential thiol-epoxy ‘click’ chemistry and esterification reaction

A protective-group-free synthetic route to multiply functionalized dendrimers is presented.

Colloidal micelles of block copolymers as nanoreactors, templates for gold nanoparticles, and vehicles for biomedical applications

Target drug delivery methodology is becoming increasingly important to overcome the shortcomings of conventional drug delivery absorption method. It improves the action time with uniform distribution and poses minimum side effects, but is usually difficult to design to achieve the desire results. Economically favorable, environment friendly, multifunctional, and easy to design, hybrid nanomaterials have demonstrated their enormous potential as target drug delivery vehicles. A combination of both micelles and nanoparticles makes them fine target delivery vehicles in a variety of biological applications where precision is primarily required to achieve the desired results as in the case of cytotoxicity of cancer cells, chemotherapy, and computed tomography guided radiation therapy.

Thioctic acid derivatives as building blocks to incorporate DNA oligonucleotides onto gold nanoparticles

Oligonucleotide gold nanoparticle conjugates are being used as diagnostic tools and gene silencing experiments. Thiol-chemistry is mostly used to functionalize gold nanoparticles with oligonucleotides and to incorporate DNA or RNA molecules onto gold surfaces. However, the stability of such nucleic acid–gold nanoparticle conjugates in certain conditions may be a limitation due to premature break of the thiol-gold bonds followed by aggregation processes. Here, we describe a straightforward synthesis of oligonucleotides carrying thioctic acid moiety based on the use of several thioctic acid-l-threoninol derivatives containing different spacers, including triglycine, short polyethyleneglycol, or aliphatic spacers. The novel thioctic-oligonucleotides were used for the functionalization of gold nanoparticles and the surface coverage and stability of the resulting thioctic-oligonucleotide gold nanoparticles were assessed. In all cases gold nanoparticles functionalized with thioctic-oligonucleotides had higher loadings and higher stability in the presence of thiols than gold nanoparticles prepared with commercially available thiol-oligonucleotides. Furthermore, the thioctic derivative carrying the triglycine linker is sensitive to cathepsin B present in endosomes. In this way this derivative may be interesting for the cellular delivery of therapeutic oligonucleotides as these results provides the basis for a potential endosomal escape.

Exploring strain-promoted 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of end functionalized polymers

Strain-promoted 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of cyclooctynes with 1,3-dipoles such as azides, nitrones, and nitrile oxides, are of interest for the functionalization of polymers. In this study, we have explored the use of a 4-dibenzocyclooctynol (DIBO)-containing chain transfer agent in reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerizations. The controlled radical polymerization resulted in well-defined DIBO-terminating polymers that could be modified by 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions using nitrones, nitrile oxides, and azides having a hydrophilic moiety. The self-assembly properties of the resulting block copolymers have been examined. The versatility of the methodology was further demonstrated by the controlled preparation of gold nanoparticles coated with the DIBO-containing polymers to produce materials that can be further modified by strain-promoted cycloadditions.

One-step interfacial thiol-ene photopolymerization for metal nanoparticle-decorated microcapsules (MNP@MCs)

We herein reported a one-step strategy to prepare the noble metal nanoparticle-decorated microcapsules (MNP@MCs) through the interfacial thiol-ene photopolymerization. In the presence of amphiphlic polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) containing thiol groups (PTPS) as a reactive surfactant and trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA) as a cross-linker, the oil phase of toluene dissolved with a photoinitiator was emulsified into a water phase containing a metal precursor to form an oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion. Upon irradiation of ultraviolet (UV) light, the thiol-ene photoploymerization and photoreduction at the interface of toluene/water lead to the formation of the cross-linked wall and metal nanoparticles, respectively. A series of gold, silver, and platinum nanoparticle-decorated microcapsules (AuNP@MC, AgNP@MC, and PtNP@MC) were prepared through this one-step interfacial thiol-ene photopolymerization and were characterized carefully by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results revealed that the obtained MNP@MCs were 2.2-2.7 μm in diameter with a wall of 40-70 nm in thickness, which was covered with the metal nanoparticles. The size and amount of metal nanoparticles increased with the increasing concentration of the metal precursor in water. Furthermore, the catalyst performance of AuNP@MC was studied by reduction of aromatic nitro compounds and exhibited the enhanced catalytic activity and good stability in the reduction of hydrophobic nitrophenol. It is believed that this robust, convenient, simple strategy based on the one-step interfacial thiol-ene photopolymerization will provide an important alternative to fabricate the functional metal nanoparticle-modified microcapsules.

Caging of plumbagin on silver nanoparticles imparts selectivity and sensitivity to plumbagin for targeted cancer cell apoptosis

Nano-caging of plumbagin for selective killing of cancer cells.

Lactose as a "Trojan horse" for quantum dot cell transport

A series of glycan-coated quantum dots were prepared to probe the effect of glycan presentation in intracellular localization in HeLa and SV40 epithelial cells. We show that glycan density mostly impacts on cell toxicity, whereas glycan type affects the cell uptake and intracellular localization. Moreover, we show that lactose can act as a “Trojan horse” on bi-functionalized QDs to help intracellular delivery of other non-internalizable glycan moieties and largely avoid the endosomal/lysosomal degradative pathway.

Nanocarriers with ultrahigh chromophore loading for fluorescence bio-imaging and photodynamic therapy

We describe the design of original nanocarriers that allows for ultrahigh chromophore loading while maintaining the photo-activity of each individual molecule. They consist in shells of charged biocompatible polymers grafted on gold nanospheres. The self-organization of extended polymer chains results from repulsive charges and steric interactions that are optimized by tuning the surface curvature of nanoparticles. This type of nano-scaffolds can be used as light-activated theranostic agents for fluorescence imaging and photodynamic therapy. We demonstrate that, labeled with a fluorescent photosensitizer, it can localize therapeutic molecules before triggering the cell death of B16-F10 melanoma with an efficiency that is similar to the efficiency of the polymer conjugate alone, and with the advantage of extremely high local loading of photosensitizers (object concentration in the picomolar range).

Remotely Triggered Drug Release from Gold Nanoparticle-based Systems

Nanoparticles are attractive drug carriers that can combine drug molecules and targeting moieties in order to improve treatment efficacy and reduce unwanted side effects. In addition, activatable nanoparticles may enable drug release in the target sites at accurate timings or conditions, in which drug discharge can be controlled by specific stimuli. Especially, gold nanoparticles provide a great opportunity as drug carriers because of the following advantageous features: i) simple formulation with various sizes and shapes and non-toxicity; ii) easy incorporation of targeting molecules, drugs or other therapeutic molecules on them; iii) triggered drug release by means of external or internal stimuli. In this chapter, we describe relevant examples of the preparation techniques and the performance of various types of gold nanoparticles for drug delivery as well as theranostics.

Targeting prostate cancer cells with PSMA inhibitor-guided gold nanoparticles

Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a notable biomarker for diagnostic and therapeutic applications in prostate cancer. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) provide an attractive nanomaterial platform for combining a variety of targeting, imaging, and cytotoxic agents into a unified device for biomedical research. In this study, we present the generation and evaluation of the first AuNP system functionalized with a small molecule phosphoramidate peptidomimetic inhibitor for the targeted delivery to PSMA-expressing prostate cancer cells. The general approach involved the conjugation of streptavidin-coated AuNPs with a biotin-linked PSMA inhibitor (CTT54) to generate PSMA-targeted AuNPs. In vitro evaluations of these targeted AuNPs were conducted to determine PSMA-mediated and time-dependent binding to PSMA-positive LNCaP cells. The PSMA-targeted AuNPs exhibited significantly higher and selective binding to LNCaP cells compared to control non-targeted AuNPs, thus demonstrating the feasibility of this approach.

Tuning ratios, densities, and supramolecular spacing in bifunctional DNA-modified gold nanoparticles

Methods for combining multiple functions into well-defined nanomaterials are still lacking, despite their need in nanomedicine and within the broader field of nanotechnology. Here several strategies for controlling the amount and the ratio of combinations of labeled DNA on 13-nm gold nanoparticles using self-assembly of thiolated DNA and/or DNA-directed assembly are explored. It is found that the self-assembly of mixtures of fluorescently labeled DNA can lead to a higher amount of labeled DNA per particle; however, the ratio of fluorophores on the nanoparticles differs greatly from that in the self-assembly solution. In contrast, when fluorescently labeled DNA are hybridized to DNA-modified gold nanoparticles, the fluorophore ratio on the nanoparticles is much closer to their ratio in solution. The use of bifunctional DNA-doublers in self-assembly and DNA-directed assembly is also explored to increase the complexity of these materials and control their composition. Finally, tuning the distance between the labels from 2.9 to 5.4 nm was achieved using different hybridized DNA clamp complexes. Fluorescent results suggest that assembling these clamps on nanoparticle surfaces may be possible, although the resulting label spacing could not be quantified.

Gold nanoparticles: preparation, properties, and applications in bionanotechnology

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are important components for biomedical applications. AuNPs have been widely employed for diagnostics, and have seen increasing use in the area of therapeutics. In this mini-review, we present fabrication strategies for AuNPs and highlight a selection of recent applications of these materials in bionanotechnology.

A comparative assessment of α-lipoic acid N-phenylamides as non-steroidal androgen receptor antagonists both on and off gold nanoparticles

A group of α-lipoic acid N-phenylamides were synthesized employing a variety of amide coupling protocols utilizing electron deficient anilines. These compounds were then assessed for their ability to block androgen-stimulated proliferation of a human prostate cancer cell line, LNCaP. These structurally simple compounds displayed anti-proliferative activities at, typically, 5-20 μM concentrations and were comparable to a commonly used anti-androgen Bicalutamide®. The inclusion of a disulfide (RS-SR) moiety, serving as an anchor to several metal nanoparticle systems (Au, Ag, Fe(2)O(3), etc.), does not impede any biological activity. Conjugation of these compounds to a gold nanoparticle surface resulted in a high degree of cellular toxicity, attributed to the absence of a biocompatible group such as PEG within the organic scaffold.