Human serum albumin corona on functionalized gold nanorods modulates doxorubicin loading and release

Modified Au:Fe-Ni magnetic micromotors improve drug delivery and diagnosis in MCF-7 cells and spheroids

Nano/micromotors hold immense potential for revolutionizing drug delivery and detection systems, especially in the realm of cancer diagnosis and treatment, owing to their distinctive features, including precise propulsion, maneuverability, and meticulously designed surface modifications. In this study, we explore the capabilities of modified and magnetically driven micromotors as active drug delivery systems within 2D and 3D cell culture environments and cancer diagnosis. We synthesized gold (Au) and iron-nickel (Fe-Ni) metallic-based magnetic micromotors (Au:Fe-Ni MMs) through electrochemical methods, equipping them with functionalities for controlled doxorubicin (DOX) release and cancer cell recognition. In 2D and spheroids of MCF-7 adenocarcinoma cells, the Au segment of these micromotors was utilized to help DOX loading through poly(sodium-4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) functionalization, and the attachment of antiHER2 antibodies for specific recognition. This innovative approach enabled controlled drug release within the cancerous microenvironment, coupled with magnetic (Fe-Ni) propulsion for biocompatible drug delivery to MCF-7 cells. Furthermore, antiHER2 immobilized Au:Fe-Ni MMs effectively interacted with receptors, capitalizing on the overexpression of HER2 antigens on MCF-7 cells. Encouraging outcomes were observed, particularly in spheroid models, underscoring the remarkable potential of these multifunctional micromotors for advancing intelligent drug delivery methodologies and diagnostic purposes.

Protein corona, influence on drug delivery system and its improvement strategy: A review

Nano drug delivery systems offer several benefits, including enhancing drug solubility, regulating drug release, prolonging drug circulation time, and minimized toxicity and side effects. However, upon entering the bloodstream, nanoparticles (NPs) encounter a complex biological environment and get absorbed by various biological components, primarily proteins, leading to the formation of a 'Protein Corona'. The formation of the protein corona is affected by the characteristics of NPs, the physiological environment, and experimental design, which in turn affects of the immunotoxicity, specific recognition, cell uptake, and drug release of NPs. To improve the abundance of a specific protein on NPs, researchers have explored pre-coating, modifying, or wrapping NPs with the cell membrane to reduce protein adsorption. This paper, we have reviewed studies of the protein corona in recent years, summarized the formation and detection methods of the protein corona, the effect of the protein corona composition on the fate of NPs, and the design of new drug delivery systems based on the optimization of protein corona to provide a reference for further study of the protein corona and a theoretical basis for the clinical transformation of NPs.

Biocompatibility Evaluation of TiO2, Fe3O4, and TiO2/Fe3O4 Nanomaterials: Insights into Potential Toxic Effects in Erythrocytes and HepG2 Cells

Nanomaterials such as titanium dioxide and magnetite are increasingly used in several fields, such as water remediation and agriculture. However, this has raised environmental concerns due to potential exposure to organisms like humans. Nanomaterials can cause adverse interactions depending on physicochemical characteristics, like size, morphology, and composition, when interacting with living beings. To ensure safe use and prevent the risk of exposure to nanomaterials, their biocompatibility must be assessed. In vitro cell cultures are beneficial for assessing nanomaterial-cell interactions due to their easy handling. The present study evaluated the biocompatibility of TiO2, Fe3O4, and TiO2/Fe3O4 nanomaterials thermally treated at 350 °C and 450 °C in erythrocytes and HepG2 cells. According to the hemolysis experiments, non-thermally treated NMs are toxic (>5% hemolysis), but their thermally treated counterparts do not present toxicity (<2%). This behavior indicates that the toxicity derives from some precursor (solvent or surfactant) used in the synthesis of the nanomaterials. All the thermally treated nanomaterials did not show hemolytic activity under different conditions, such as low-light exposure or the absence of blood plasma proteins. In contrast, non-thermally treated nanomaterials showed a high hemolytic behavior, which was reduced after the purification (washing and thermal treatment) of nanomaterials, indicating the presence of surfactant residue used during synthesis. An MTS cell viability assay shows that calcined nanomaterials do not reduce cell viability (>11%) during 24 h of exposure. On the other hand, a lactate dehydrogenase leakage assay resulted in a higher variability, indicating that several nanomaterials did not cause an increase in cell death as compared to the control. However, a holotomographic microscopy analysis reveals a high accumulation of nanomaterials in the cell structure at a low concentration (10 µg mL-1), altering cell morphology, which could lead to cell membrane damage and cell viability reduction.

Site-Specific Antibody Assembly on Nanoparticles via a Versatile Coating Method for Improved Cell Targeting

Antibody-nanoparticle conjugates are promising candidates for precision medicine. However, developing a controllable method for conjugating antibodies to nanoparticles without compromising the antibody activity represents a critical challenge. Here, a facile and generalizable film-coating method is presented using zeolitic imidazole framework-8 (ZIF-8) to immobilize antibodies on various nanoparticles in a favorable orientation for enhanced cell targeting. Different model and therapeutic antibodies (e.g., Herceptin) are assembled on nanoparticles via a biomineralized film-coating method and exhibited high antibody loading and targeting efficiencies. Importantly, the antibodies selectively bind to ZIF-8 via their Fc regions, which favorably exposes the functional Fab regions to the biological target, thus improving the cell targeting ability of antibody-coated nanoparticles. In combination, molecular dynamics simulations and experimental studies on antibody immobilization, orientation efficiency, and biofunctionality collectively demonstrate that this versatile site-specific antibody conjugation method provides effective control over antibody orientation and leads to improved cell targeting for a variety of nanoparticles.

Surface Adsorption of the Cancer Biomarker Lysophosphatidic Acid in Serum Studied by Acoustic Wave Biosensor

The thickness shear mode acoustic wave device is of interest for the sensing of biomarkers for diseases in various biological fluids, but suffers from the issue of non-specific adsorption of compounds other than those of interest to the electrode surface, thus affecting the device's output. The aim of this present study was to determine the level of non-specific adsorption on gold electrodes from serum samples with added ovarian cancer biomarker lysophosphatidic acid in the presence of a surface anti-fouling layer. The latter was an oligoethylene molecule with thiol group for attachment to the electrode surface. It was found that the anti-fouling layer had a minimal effect on the level of both adsorption of components from serum and the marker. This result stands in sharp contrast to the analogous monolayer employed for anti-fouling reduction on silica.

Dynamics of Human Serum Albumin Corona Formation on Gold Nanorods with Different Surface Ligands In Silico

The interaction between human serum albumin (HSA) and nanoparticles (NPs) to form HSA corona has widely been studied since endogenous functions of albumin are highly attractive for drug delivery. However, a full understanding of the molecular dynamics and factors behind the formation of HSA corona, including interactions between HSA and different surface ligands and between neighboring HSA molecules, resulting in conformational change of HSA is presently lacking. Here, we assembled 14 HSA molecules around gold nanorods (AuNRs) with different surface chemistries (bare gold surface, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), polystyrene sulfonate (PSS), and polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDADMAC)) in silico and examined the dynamics of HSA corona formation using coarse-grained molecular dynamics for 300 ns of simulation. We observed that PDADMAC, being more flexible than PSS, resulted in all HSA molecules moving toward AuNR-PDADMAC, while the instability of CTAB on AuNR resulted in fewer HSA molecules moving toward AuNR-CTAB compared to AuNR-PSS. HSA molecules around AuNR-PDADMAC also exhibited the largest conformational change in terms of their radius of gyration (R_g) and root mean square deviation (RMSD). In the absence of surface ligands, HSA molecules around the bare AuNR were susceptible to steric hindrance with conformational change observed in terms of their RMSD but not their R_g unlike that of HSA molecules around AuNR-PDADMAC. The insights gained from the inclusion of neighboring HSA molecules in the simulation of corona formation could be more representative than examining a single adsorbed HSA molecule on AuNRs with different surface passivations.

Insights into Characterization Methods and Biomedical Applications of Nanoparticle-Protein Corona

Nanoparticles (NPs) exposed to a biological milieu will strongly interact with proteins, forming "coronas" on the surfaces of the NPs. The protein coronas (PCs) affect the properties of the NPs and provide a new biological identity to the particles in the biological environment. The characterization of NP-PC complexes has attracted enormous research attention, owing to the crucial effects of the properties of an NP-PC on its interactions with living systems, as well as the diverse applications of NP-PC complexes. The analysis of NP-PC complexes without a well-considered approach will inevitably lead to misunderstandings and inappropriate applications of NPs. This review introduces methods for the characterization of NP-PC complexes and investigates their recent applications in biomedicine. Furthermore, the review evaluates these characterization methods based on comprehensive critical views and provides future perspectives regarding the applications of NP-PC complexes.

Targeting Tumorigenicity of Breast Cancer Stem Cells Using SAHA/Wnt-b Catenin Antagonist Loaded Onto Protein Corona of Gold Nanoparticles

BACKGROUND

Among various theories for the origin of cancer, the "stemness phenotype model" suggests a dynamic feature for tumor cells in which non-cancer stem cells (non-CSCs) can inter-convert to CSCs. Differentiation with histone-deacetylase inhibitor, vorinostat (SAHA), can induce stem cells to differentiate as well as enforces non-CSCs to reprogram to CSCs. To avoid this undesirable effect, one can block the Wnt-βcatenin pathway. Thus, a dual delivery system of SAHA and a Wnt-βcatenin blocker will be beneficial in the induction of differentiation of CSCs. Protein corona (PC) formation in nanoparticle has a biologic milieu, and despite all problematic properties, it can be employed as a medium for dual loading of the drugs.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We prepared sphere gold nanoparticles (GNPs) with human plasma protein corona loaded with SAHA as differentiating agent and PKF118-310 (PKF) as a Wnt-βcatenin antagonist. The MCF7 breast cancer stem cells were treated with NPs and the viability and differentiation were evaluated by Western blotting and sphere formation assay.

RESULTS

We found that both drugs loaded onto corona-capped GNPs had significant cytotoxicity in comparison to bare GNP-corona. Data demonstrated an increase in stem cell population and upregulation of mesenchymal marker, Snail by SAHA-loaded GNPs treatment; however, the combination of PKF loaded GNPs along with SAHA-loaded GNPs resulted in a reduction of stem cell populations and Snail marker. We have shown that in MCF7 and its CSCs simultaneous treatment with SAHA and PKF118-310 induced differentiation and inhibition of Snail induction.

CONCLUSION

Our study reveals the PC-coated GNPs as a biocompatible career for both hydrophilic (PKF) and hydrophobic (SAHA) agents which can decrease breast cancer stem cell populations along with reduced stemness state regression.

Understanding the relevance of protein corona in nanoparticle-based therapeutics and diagnostics

Over the past few decades, nanoparticle-based therapeutic and diagnostic systems have gained immense recognition. A relative improvement in the status of the global cancer burden has been successful due to the advent of nanoparticle-based formulations. However, exposure of nanoparticles (NPs) to a real-time biological media alters its native identity due to the formation of the biomolecular corona. Such biological interactions hinder the efficiency of the NPs system. The parameters that govern such intricate interaction are generally overlooked while designing nano drugs and delivery systems (nano-DDS). Fabricating nano-DDS with prolonged circulation time, enhanced drug-loading, and release capacity along with efficient clearance, remain the primary concerns associated with cancer therapeutics. This present review firstly aims to summarize the critical aspects that influence protein coronation on therapeutic nanoparticles designed for anti-cancer therapy. The role of protein corona in modifying the overall pharmacodynamics of the nanoparticle-based DDS has been discussed. Further, the studies and patents that extend the concept of protein corona into diagnostics have been elaborated. An understanding of the pros and cons associated with protein coronation would not only help us gain better insights into the fabrication of effective anti-cancer drug-delivery systems but also improve the shortcomings related to the clinical translation of these nanotherapeutics.

Protein corona and its applications.

Protein corona of metal-organic framework nanoparticals: Study on the adsorption behavior of protein and cell interaction

Nanoscale metal-organic frameworks (NMOFs) have attracted considerable attention for controlled drug delivery. However, the interaction between nanoparticles and the biological macromolecules of physiological system must be valued because the formed protein corona will endow NMOFs with new biorecognition properties. In this study, we carried out detailed protein adsorption studies in vitro and cell uptake tests of HeLa cells for nanospherical Uio66 and nanooctahedral Uio67. Uio67 with higher binding constants to human serum albumin needed to combine more protein molecules to achieve colloidal stability state than that needed by Uio66, and this phenomenon led Uio67 to aggregate under the same incubation condition due to the formation of a single-layer protein. Uio67 also induced an evident conformation change in protein to stabilize the combination. In particular, the cell uptake efficiencies of the two systems showed a significant thickness dependence on the protein corona. When samples incubated in 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS), the intracellular rate was the highest for both systems, but the rate was not proportional to the FBS concentration. Results of this work are important to the development of the considerable potential NMOFs-based medicals and also provide additional insight into protein corona.