Expanding Analytical Tools for Characterizing Ultrasmall Silica-based Nanoparticles

High-Performance Chromatographic Characterization of Surface Chemical Heterogeneities of Fluorescent Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Core-Shell Silica Nanoparticles

In contrast to small-molar-mass compounds, detailed structural investigations of inorganic core-organic ligand shell hybrid nanoparticles remain challenging. The assessment of batch-reaction-induced heterogeneities of surface chemical properties and their correlation with particle size has been a particularly long-standing issue. Applying a combination of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) to ultra-small (<10 nm diameter) poly(ethylene glycol)-coated (PEGylated) fluorescent core-shell silica nanoparticles, we elucidate here previously unknown surface heterogeneities resulting from varying dye conjugation to nanoparticle silica cores and surfaces. Heterogeneities are predominantly governed by dye charge, as corroborated by molecular dynamics simulations. We demonstrate that this insight enables the development of synthesis protocols to achieve PEGylated and targeting ligand-functionalized PEGylated silica nanoparticles with dramatically improved surface chemical homogeneity, as evidenced by single-peak HPLC chromatograms. Because surface chemical properties are key to all nanoparticle interactions, we expect these methods and fundamental insights to become relevant to a number of systems for applications, including bioimaging and nanomedicine.

Quantitative Measure of the Size Dispersity in Ultrasmall Fluorescent Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Core-Shell Silica Nanoparticles by Small-angle X-ray Scattering

Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) was performed on dispersions of ultrasmall (d < 10 nm) fluorescent organic-inorganic hybrid core-shell silica nanoparticles synthesized in aqueous solutions (C' dots) by using an oscillating flow cell to overcome beam induced particle degradation. Form factor analysis and fitting was used to determine the size and size dispersity of the internal silica core containing covalently encapsulated fluorophores. The structure of the organic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) shell was modelled as a monodisperse corona containing concentrated and semi-dilute regimes of decaying density and as a simple polydisperse shell to determine the bounds of dispersity in the overall hybrid particle. C' dots containing single growth step silica cores have dispersities of 0.19-0.21; growth of additional silica shells onto the core produces a thin, dense silica layer, and increases the dispersity to 0.22-0.23. Comparison to FCS and DLS measures of size shows good agreement with SAXS measured and modelled sizes and size dispersities. Finally, comparison of a set of same sized and purified particles demonstrates that SAXS is sensitive to the skewness of the gel permeation chromatography elugrams of the original as-made materials. These and other insights provided by quantitative SAXS assessments may become useful for generation of robust nanoparticle design criteria necessary for their successful and safe use, for example in nanomedicine and oncology applications.

Cancer-Targeting Ultrasmall Silica Nanoparticles for Clinical Translation: Physicochemical Structure and Biological Property Correlations

Although a large body of literature exists on the potential use of nanoparticles for medical applications, the number of probes translated into human clinical trials is remarkably small. A major challenge of particle probe development and their translation is the elucidation of safety profiles associated with their structural complexity, not only in terms of size distribution and heterogeneities in particle composition but also their effects on biological activities and the relationship between particle structure and pharmacokinetics. Here, we report on the synthesis, characterization, and long-term stability of ultrasmall (<10 nm diameter) dual-modality (optical and positron emission tomography) and integrintargeting silica nanoparticles (cRGDY-PEG-Cy5-C' dots and ¹²⁴I-(or ¹³¹I-) cRGDY-PEG-Cy5-C'dots) and the extent to which their surface ligand density differentially modulates key in vitro and in vivo biological activities in melanoma models over a range of ligand numbers (i.e., ~6-18). Gel permeation chromatography, established as an important particle characterization tool, revealed a two-year shelf life for cRGDY-PEG-Cy5-C' dots. Radiochromatography further demonstrated the necessary radiochemical stability for clinical applications. The results of subsequent ligand density-dependent studies elucidate strong modulations in biological response, including statistically significant increases in integrin-specific targeting and particle uptake, cellular migration and adhesion, renal clearance, and tumor-to-blood ratios with increasing ligand number. We anticipate that nanoprobe characteristics and a better understanding of the structure-function relationships determined in this study will help guide identification of other lead nanoparticle candidates for in vitro and in vivo biological assessments and product translation.