Serum protein corona-responsive autophagy tuning in cells

All Roads Lead to Rome: Comparing Nanoparticle- and Small Molecule-Driven Cell Autophagy

Autophagy, vital for removing cellular waste, is triggered differently by small molecules and nanoparticles. Small molecules, like rapamycin, non-selectively activate autophagy by inhibiting the mTOR pathway, which is essential for cell regulation. This can clear damaged components but may cause cytotoxicity with prolonged use. Nanoparticles, however, induce autophagy, often causing oxidative stress, through broader cellular interactions and can lead to a targeted form known as "xenophagy." Their impact varies with their properties but can be harnessed therapeutically. In this review, the autophagy induced by nanoparticles is explored and small molecules across four dimensions: the mechanisms behind autophagy induction, the outcomes of such induction, the toxicological effects on cellular autophagy, and the therapeutic potential of employing autophagy triggered by nanoparticles or small molecules. Although small molecules and nanoparticles each induce autophagy through different pathways and lead to diverse effects, both represent invaluable tools in cell biology, nanomedicine, and drug discovery, offering unique insights and therapeutic opportunities.

Nature-Inspired Thylakoid-Based Photosynthetic Nanoarchitectures for Biomedical Applications

"Drawing inspiration from nature" offers a wealth of creative possibilities for designing cutting-edge materials with improved properties and performance. Nature-inspired thylakoid-based nanoarchitectures, seamlessly integrate the inherent structures and functions of natural components with the diverse and controllable characteristics of nanotechnology. These innovative biomaterials have garnered significant attention for their potential in various biomedical applications. Thylakoids possess fundamental traits such as light harvesting, oxygen evolution, and photosynthesis. Through the integration of artificially fabricated nanostructures with distinct physical and chemical properties, novel photosynthetic nanoarchitectures can be catalytically generated, offering versatile functionalities for diverse biomedical applications. In this article, an overview of the properties and extraction methods of thylakoids are provided. Additionally, the recent advancements in the design, preparation, functions, and biomedical applications of a range of thylakoid-based photosynthetic nanoarchitectures are reviewed. Finally, the foreseeable challenges and future prospects in this field is discussed.

Modulating the toxicity of engineered nanoparticles by controlling protein corona formation: Recent advances and future prospects

With the rapid development and widespread application of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs), understanding the fundamental interactions between ENPs and biological systems is essential to assess and predict the fate of ENPs in vivo. When ENPs are exposed to complex physiological environments, biomolecules quickly and inevitably adsorb to ENPs to form a biomolecule corona, such as a protein corona (PC). The formed PC has a significant effect on the physicochemical properties of ENPs and gives them a brand new identity in the biological environment, which determines the subsequent ENP-cell/tissue/organ interactions. Controlling the formation of PCs is therefore of utmost importance to accurately predict and optimize the behavior of ENPs within living organisms, as well as ensure the safety of their applications. In this review, we provide an overview of the fundamental aspects of the PC, including the formation mechanism, composition, and frequently used characterization techniques. We comprehensively discuss the potential impact of the PC on ENP toxicity, including cytotoxicity, immune response, and so on. Additionally, we summarize recent advancements in manipulating PC formation on ENPs to achieve the desired biological outcomes. We further discuss the challenges and prospects, aiming to provide valuable insights for a better understanding and prediction of ENP behaviors in vivo, as well as the development of low-toxicity ENPs.

Impact of Protein Corona Formation on the Thermoresponsive Behavior of Acrylamide-Based Nanogels

The ability to fine-tune the volume phase transition temperature (VPTT) of thermoresponsive nanoparticles is essential to their successful application in drug delivery. The rational design of these materials is limited by our understanding of the impact that nanoparticle-protein interactions have on their thermoresponsive behavior. In this work, we demonstrate how the formation of protein corona impacts the transition temperature values of acrylamide-based nanogels and their reversibility characteristics, in the presence of lysozyme, given its relevance for the ocular and intranasal administration route. Nanogels were synthesized with N-isopropylacrylamide or N-n-propylacrylamide as backbone monomers, methylenebis(acrylamide) (2.5-20 molar %) as a cross-linker, and functionalized with negatively charged monomers 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid, N-acryloyl-l-proline, or acrylic acid; characterization showed comparable particle diameter (c.a.10 nm), but formulation-dependent thermoresponsive properties, in the range 28-54 °C. Lysozyme was shown to form a complex with the negatively charged nanogels, lowering their VPTT values; the hydrophilic nature of the charged comonomer controlled the drop in VPTT upon complex formation, while matrix rigidity only had a small, yet significant effect. The cross-linker content was found to play a major role in determining the reversibility of the temperature-dependent transition of the complexes, with only 20 molar % cross-linked-nanogels displaying a fully reversible transition. These results demonstrate the importance of evaluating protein corona formation in the development of drug delivery systems based on thermoresponsive nanoparticles.

Protein corona exacerbated inflammatory response in macrophages elicited by CdTe quantum dots

Nano-bio interface is significant concern in nanomedicine. When nanoparticles (NPs) come into contact with cells, they form complexes with proteins known as protein corona (PC). Cadmium telluride quantum dots (CdTe QDs) have been applied as bioimaging probes and for macrophage theragnostic. However, the impact of protein corona on the behavior of CdTe QDs is not well understood. Macrophages play a crucial role in defending against NPs. In this study, RAW264.7 cells were used to investigated the inflammatory response in macrophages when exposed to CdTe QDs before and after PC formation in fetal bovine serum. The results indicated that protein corona polarized more macrophages towards M1 phenotype. Transcriptomics analysis revealed that PC-CdTe QDs altered a greater number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) compared to CdTe QDs (177 and 398) at 1.0 μM in macrophages. The DEGs affected by PC-CdTe QDs contained several personalized inflammatory cytokines. The enriched pathways after PC formation included Cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, NOD-like receptor signaling pathway, and TNF signaling pathway, etc. Furthermore, PC specifically exacerbated the overexpression of CCL2 and IL-1β proteins. Importantly, PC altered the mechanism of CdTe QD-induced pyroptosis, shifting it from activating NLRC4 to both NLRP1 and NLRP3 inflammasomes, and from cleaving GSDMD and GSDMB to GSDMB alone. Overall, protein corona exacerbated the inflammatory response induced by CdTe QDs in macrophages. This study provides valuable insight into the pro-inflammatory effect of protein corona on CdTe QDs, with implications for their use in bioimaging or macrophage theragnostic by either exploiting or eliminating this biological interface effect.

Protein-Nanoparticle Interactions Govern the Interfacial Behavior of Polymeric Nanogels: Study of Protein Corona Formation at the Air/Water Interface

Biomedical applications of nanoparticles require a fundamental understanding of their interactions and behavior with biological interfaces. Protein corona formation can alter the morphology and properties of nanomaterials, and knowledge of the interfacial behavior of the complexes, using in situ analytical techniques, will impact the development of nanocarriers to maximize uptake and permeability at cellular interfaces. In this study we evaluate the interactions of acrylamide-based nanogels, with neutral, positive, and negative charges, with serum-abundant proteins albumin, fibrinogen, and immunoglobulin G. The formation of a protein corona complex between positively charged nanoparticles and albumin is characterized by dynamic light scattering, circular dichroism, and surface tensiometry; we use neutron reflectometry to resolve the complex structure at the air/water interface and demonstrate the effect of increased protein concentration on the interface. Surface tensiometry data suggest that the structure of the proteins can impact the interfacial properties of the complex formed. These results contribute to the understanding of the factors that influence the bio-nano interface, which will help to design nanomaterials with improved properties for applications in drug delivery.

Nutrient molecule corona: An update for nanomaterial-food component interactions

The adsorption of biological molecules to nanomaterials (NMs) will significantly impact NMs' behavior in complex microenvironments. Previously we proposed the need to consider the interactions between food components and NMs for the evaluation of oral toxicity of NMs. This review updated this concept as nutrient molecule corona, that the adsorption of nutrient molecules alters the uptake of nutrient molecules and/or NMs, as well as the signaling pathways to induce a combined toxicity due to the biologically active nature of nutrient molecules. Even with the presence of protein corona, nutrient molecules may still bind to NMs to change the identities of NMs in vivo. Furthermore, this review proposed the binding of excessive nutrient molecules to NMs to induce a combined toxicity under pathological conditions such as metabolic diseases. The structures of nutrient molecules and physicochemical properties of NMs determine nutrient molecule corona formation, and these aspects should be considered to limit the unwanted effects brought by nutrient molecule corona. In conclusion, similar to other biological molecule corona, the formation of nutrient molecule corona due to the presence of food components or excessive nutrient molecules in pathophysiological microenvironments will alter the behaviors of NMs.

Artificial engineering of the protein corona at bio-nano interfaces for improved cancer-targeted nanotherapy

Nanoparticles (NPs) have been demonstrated in numerous applications as anticancer, antibacterial and antioxidant agents. Artificial engineering of protein interactions with NPs in biological systems is crucial to develop potential NPs for drug delivery and cancer nanotherapy. The protein corona (PC) on the NP surface, displays an interface between biomacromolecules and NPs, governing their pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Upon interaction of proteins with the NP surface, their surface features are modified and they can easily be removed from the circulation by the mononuclear phagocytic system (MPS). PC properties heavily depend on the biological microenvironment and NP surface physicochemical parameters. Based on this context, we have surveyed different approaches that have been used for artificial engineering of the PC composition on NP surfaces. We discuss the effects of NP size, shape, surface modifications (PEGylation, self-peptide, other polymers), and protein pre-coating on the PC properties. Additionally, other factors including protein source and structure, intravenous injection and the subsequent shear flow, plasma protein gradients, temperature and local heat transfer, and washing media are considered in the context of their effects on the PC properties and overall target cellular effects. Moreover, the effects of NP-PC complexes on cancer cells based on cellular interactions, organization of intracellular PC (IPC), targeted drug delivery (TDD) and regulation of burst drug release profile of nanoplatforms, enhanced biocompatibility, and clinical applications were discussed followed by challenges and future perspective of the field. In conclusion, this paper can provide useful information to manipulate PC properties on the NP surface, thus trying to provide a literature survey to shorten their shipping from preclinical to clinical trials and to lay the basis for a personalized PC.

Influence of surface chemistry and morphology of nanoparticles on protein corona formation

Nanomaterials offer promising solutions as drug delivery systems and imaging agents in response to the demand for better therapeutics and diagnostics. However, the limited understanding of the interaction between nanoparticles and biological entities is currently hampering the development of new systems and their applications in clinical settings. Proteins and lipids in biological fluids are known to complex with nanoparticles to form a "biomolecular corona". This has been shown to affect particles' morphology and behavior in biological systems and their interactions with cells. Hence, understanding how nanomaterials' physicochemical properties affect the formation and composition of this biocorona is a crucial step. This work evaluates existing literature on how morphology (size and shape), and surface chemistry (charge and hydrophobicity) of nanoparticles influence the formation of protein corona. The latest evidence suggest that although surface charge promotes the interaction with proteins and lipids, surface chemistry plays a leading role in determining the affinity of the nanoparticle for biomolecules and, ultimately, the composition of the corona. More recently the study of additional nanoparticles' properties like shape and surface chirality have demonstrated a significant effect on protein corona architecture, providing new tools to tailor biomolecular corona formation. This article is categorized under: Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging Technologies Toxicology and Regulatory Issues in Nanomedicine > Toxicology of Nanomaterials.

Protein corona mitigated the cytotoxicity of CdTe QDs to macrophages by targeting mitochondria

Despite the potential of cadmium telluride quantum dots (CdTe QDs) in bioimaging and drug delivery, their toxic effects have been documented. It is known that the immunotoxicity of CdTe QDs targeting macrophages is one of their adverse effects, and the protein corona (PC) will affect the biological effects of QDs. In order to prove whether the PC-CdTe QDs complexes could alleviate the toxicity of CdTe QDs without weakening their luminescence, we investigated the impact of protein corona formed in fetal bovine serum (FBS) on the cytotoxicity of CdTe QDs to mitochondria. RAW264.7 cells were used as the model to compare the effects of CdTe QDs and PC-CdTe QDs complexes on the structure, function, quantity, morphology, and mitochondrial quality control of mitochondria. As result, the protein corona form in FBS alleviated the inhibition of CdTe QDs on mitochondrial activity, the damage to mitochondrial membrane, the increase of ROS, and the reduction of ATP content. Also, CdTe QDs increased the number of mitochondria in macrophages, while the complexes did not. In line with this, the morphology of mitochondrial network in macrophages which were exposed to CdTe QDs and PC-CdTe QDs complexes was different. CdTe QDs transformed the network into fragments, punctuations, and short rods, while PC-CdTe QDs complexes made the mitochondrial network highly branched, which was related to the imbalance of mitochondrial fission and fusion. Mechanically, CdTe QDs facilitated mitochondrial fission and inhibited mitochondrial fusion, while protein corona reversed the phenomenon caused by QDs. Besides mitochondrial dynamics, mitochondrial biogenesis and mitophagy were also affected. CdTe QDs increased the expression of mitochondrial biogenesis signaling molecules including PGC-1α, NRF-1 and TFAM, while PC-CdTe QDs complexes played the opposite role. With regard to mitophagy, they both showed promoting effect. In conclusion, the formation of protein corona alleviated the toxic effects of CdTe QDs on the mitochondria in macrophages and affected mitochondrial quality control. Under the premise of ensuring the fluorescence properties of CdTe QDs, these findings provided useful insight into reducing the toxicity of CdTe QDs from two perspectives: protein corona and mitochondria, and shared valuable information for the safe use of QDs.

Polydopamine nanospheres coated with bovine serum albumin permit enhanced cell differentiation: fundamental mechanism and practical application for protein coating formation

Protein coating is a strategy for modifying and improving the surface functional properties of nanomaterials. However, the underlying mechanism behind protein coating formation, which is essential for its practical applications, remains largely unknown. Herein, we investigate the fundamental molecular mechanism of protein coating formation. Polydopamine nanospheres (PDANS) coated with bovine serum albumin (BSA) are examined in this study due to their wide biomedical potential. Our results demonstrate that BSAs can flexibly bind to PDANS and maintain their structural dynamicity. Our findings unveil that regular structure formation arises from BSAs lateral interactions via electrostatic forces. Notably, the protein coating modified PDANS surface enhances cell adhesion and proliferation as well as osteogenic differentiation. Such an enhancement is attributed to complementary surface properties provided by the dynamic PDANS-BSA complex and regular structure caused by BSA-BSA interactions in protein coating formation. This study provides a fundamental understanding of the molecular mechanism of protein coating formation, which facilitates the further development of functional protein-coated nanomaterials and guides the bioengineering decision making for biomedical applications, especially in bone tissue engineering.

Formation and biological effects of protein corona for food-related nanoparticles

The rapid development of nanoscience and nanoengineering provides new perspectives on the composition of food materials, and has great potential for food biology research and applications. The use of nanoparticle additives and the discovery of endogenous nanoparticles in food make it important to elucidate in vivo safety of nanomaterials. Nanoparticles will spontaneously adsorb proteins during transporting in blood and a protein corona can be formed on the nanoparticle surface inside the human body. Protein corona affects the physicochemical properties of nanoparticles and the structure and function of proteins, which in turn affects a series of biological reactions. This article reviewed basic information about protein corona of food-related nanoparticles, elucidated the influence of protein corona on nanoparticles properties and protein structure and function, and discussed the effect of protein corona on nanoparticles in vivo. The effects of protein corona on nanoparticles transport, cellular uptake, cytotoxicity, and immune response were reviewed, and the reasons for these effects were also discussed. Finally, future research perspectives for food protein corona were proposed. Protein corona gives food nanoparticles a new identity, which makes proteins bound to nanoparticles undergo structural transformations that affect their recognition by receptors in vivo. It can have positive or negative impacts on cellular uptake and toxicity of nanoparticles and even trigger immune responses. Understanding the effects of protein corona have potential in evaluating the fate of the food-related nanoparticles, providing physicochemical and biological information about the interaction between proteins and foodborne nanoparticles. The review article will help to evaluate the safety of protein coronas formed on nanoparticles in food, and may provide fundamental information for understanding and controlling nanotoxicity.

The protein corona and its effects on nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems

In most cases, once nanoparticles (NPs) enter the blood, their surface is covered by biological molecules, especially proteins, forming a so-called protein corona (PC). As a result, what the cells of the body "see" is not the NPs as formulated by the chemists, but the PC. In this way, the PC can influence the effects of the NPs and even mask the desired effects of the NP components. While this can argue for trying to inhibit protein-nanomaterial interactions, encapsulating NPs in an endogenous PC may increase their clinical usefulness. In this review, we briefly introduce the concept of the PC, its formation and its effects on the behavior of NPs. We also discuss how to reduce the formation of PCs or exploit them to enhance NP functions. Studying the interactions between proteins and NPs will provide insights into their clinical activity in health and disease. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: The formation of protein corona (PC) will affect the operation of nanoparticles (NPs) in vivo. Since there are many proteins in the blood, it is impossible to completely overcome the formation of PC. Therefore, the use of PCs to deliver drug is the best choice. De-opsonins adsorbed on NPs can reduce macrophage phagocytosis and cytotoxicity of NPs, and prolong their circulation in blood. Albumin, apolipoprotein and transferrin are typical de-opsonins. In present review, we mainly discuss how to optimize the delivery of nanoparticles through the formation of albumin corona, transferrin corona and apolipoprotein corona in vivo or in vitro.

Characterization of blood protein adsorption on PM2.5 and its implications on cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of PM2.5

In biological fluids, micro- or nano-size particles are prone to adsorb proteins and form a layer. The ambient air fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) is inhaled via the lung, penetrates biological barriers and eventually reaches systemic blood circulation. However, there are very few data available regarding the adsorption of proteins on PM_2.5. Here, we compared protein corona formed in plasma after bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) exposure with those formed in plasma alone. Using purified coronal proteins, we explored their adsorption behaviors on PM_2.5 and their influence on biological reactivity of PM_2.5. Liquid-chromatography tandem mass-spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis revealed that exposure to BALF significantly changed the blood protein profile on PM_2.5. Regardless of the presence of BALF, the protein corona on PM_2.5 contained an abundance of serum albumin, hemoglobin (Hb) and fibrinogen (Fg) proteins. Using Fg as a corona surrogate, we found that van der Waals interactions, hydrophobic interactions, π-π stacking and electrostatic attractions contributed to the Fg adsorption and led to the conformational changes of Fg. In addition, Fg decoration decreased cellular internalization of PM_2.5 and corresponding subsequent oxidative stress responses in a murine RAW264.7 macrophage. These results support the view that the formation of PM_2.5 corona should be considered for toxicity assessment of PM_2.5.

Dual effects of fibrinogen decoration on the tuning of silica nanoparticles-induced autophagic response: The implication of sedimentation and internalization

Due to the blooming development of nanotechnology, the further understanding of nanomaterials-induced toxicity has been demanded. Following their introduction into a biological matrix, the surface of nanoparticles (NPs) is covered by protein layer, namely corona, which imparts a new biological identity to NPs. Here, we showed that fibrinogen (Fg), but not albumin (BSA) or hemoglobin (Hb), decoration on the surface of silica nanoparticles (SiO₂ NPs) ameliorate their pro-autophagic activity in non-phagocytic cells. Surprisingly, this effect of Fg was compromised in phagocytic cells. Further mechanistic investigation suggested coronal Fg has dual effects on the tuning of SiO₂ NPs-induced autophagic response. First, Fg decoration blocks SiO₂ NPs sedimentation through stabilize SiO₂ NPs suspension; secondly, Fg coverage inhibits SiO₂ NPs' cellular internalization. These findings provided important insights into the understanding of NPs-corona complexes behaviors and indicate future directions for the investigation of corona-mediated biological activities.

The hydrogen-bond configuration modulates the energy transfer efficiency in helical protein nanotubes

Energy transport in proteins is critical to a variety of physical, chemical, and biological processes in living organisms. While strenuous efforts have been made to study vibrational energy transport in proteins, thermal transport processes across the most fundamental building blocks of proteins, i.e. helices, are not well understood. This work studies energy transport in a group of "isomer" helices. The π-helix is shown to have the highest thermal conductivity, 110% higher than that of the α-helix and 207% higher than that of the 310-helix. The H-bond connectivity is found to govern thermal transport mechanisms including the phonon spectral energy density, dispersion, mode-specific transport, group velocity, and relaxation time. The energy transport is strongly correlated with the H-bond strength which is also modulated by the H-bond connectivity. These fundamental insights provide a novel perspective for understanding energy transfer in proteins and guiding a rational molecule-level design of novel materials with configurable H-bonds.

Protein corona: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of nanomedicine

Nanomedicine is an interdisciplinary field of research, comprising science, engineering, and medicine. Many are the clinical applications of nanomedicine, such as molecular imaging, medical diagnostics, targeted therapy, and image-guided surgery. Despite major advances during the past 20 years, many efforts must be done to understand the complex behavior of nanoparticles (NPs) under physiological conditions, the kinetic and thermodynamic principles, involved in the rational design of NP. Once administrated in physiological environment, NPs interact with biomolecules and they are surrounded by protein corona (PC) or biocorona. PC can trigger an immune response, affecting NPs toxicity and targeting capacity. This review aims to provide a detailed description of biocorona and of parameters that are able to control PC formation and composition. Indeed, the review provides an overview about the role of PC in the modulation of both cytotoxicity and immune response as well as in the control of targeting capacity.

Compromised Autophagic Effect of Polystyrene Nanoplastics Mediated by Protein Corona Was Recovered after Lysosomal Degradation of Corona

The adverse biological and ecological consequences of plastic debris have become a serious problem worldwide. Evidences have uncovered the accumulation of nanoplastics (NPs) in organisms. In a complex biological environment, proteins are prone to adsorbed onto the NPs' surface and form a protein corona layer, which mediates the interaction of NPs with cells. Here, we discovered the interaction of polystyrene (PS) NPs with protein fetal bovine serum (FBS) and altered cytotoxic effects. Mechanistically, prefabricated FBS protein corona mediated the relief of autophagic flux blockage, autophagosomes accumulation, and lysosomal damage in RAW264.7 cells caused by PS NPs. Using an individual fluorescent protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a corona surrogate, we demonstrated that coronal BSA remains, at least partially, on the surface of PS NPs during the initial stage of internalization and protects cell membrane from PS NPs-induced damage. However, along with the degradation of corona in lysosomes, reappearance of cytotoxicity was observed. Herein, we provided a proof of principle of the manipulation of corona on NPs' toxicity and we expect the result will promote the further safety assessment of NPs.

The interaction between nanoparticles-protein corona complex and cells and its toxic effect on cells

Once nanoparticles (NPs) contact with the biological fluids, the proteins immediately adsorb onto their surface, forming a layer called protein corona (PC), which bestows the biological identity on NPs. Importantly, the NPs-PC complex is the true identity of NPs in physiological environment. Based on the affinity and the binding and dissociation rate, PC is classified into soft protein corona, hard protein corona, and interfacial protein corona. Especially, the hard PC, a protein layer relatively stable and closer to their surface, plays particularly important role in the biological effects of the complex. However, the abundant corona proteins rarely correspond to the most abundant proteins found in biological fluids. The composition profile, formation and conformational change of PC can be affected by many factors. Here, the influence factors, not only the nature of NPs, but also surface chemistry and biological medium, are discussed. Likewise, the formed PC influences the interaction between NPs and cells, and the associated subsequent cellular uptake and cytotoxicity. The uncontrolled PC formation may induce undesirable and sometimes opposite results: increasing or inhibiting cellular uptake, hindering active targeting or contributing to passive targeting, mitigating or aggravating cytotoxicity, and stimulating or mitigating the immune response. In the present review, we discuss these aspects and hope to provide a valuable reference for controlling protein adsorption, predicting their behavior in vivo experiments and designing lower toxicity and enhanced targeting nanomedical materials for nanomedicine.

Nanomaterials for Nanotheranostics: Tuning Their Properties According to Disease Needs

Nanotheranostics is one of the biggest scientific breakthroughs in nanomedicine. Most of the currently available diagnosis and therapies are invasive, time-consuming, and associated with severe toxic side effects. Nanotheranostics, on the other hand, has the potential to bridge this gap by harnessing the capabilities of nanotechnology and nanomaterials for combined therapeutics and diagnostics with markedly enhanced efficacy. However, nanomaterial applications in nanotheranostics are still in its infancy. This is due to the fact that each disease has a particular microenvironment with well-defined characteristics, which promotes deeper selection criteria of nanomaterials to meet the disease needs. In this review, we have outlined how nanomaterials are designed and tailored for nanotheranostics of cancer and other diseases such as neurodegenerative, autoimmune (particularly on rheumatoid arthritis), and cardiovascular diseases. The penetrability and retention of a nanomaterial in the biological system, the therapeutic strategy used, and the imaging mode selected are some of the aspects discussed for each disease. The specific properties of the nanomaterials in terms of feasibility, physicochemical challenges, progress in clinical trials, its toxicity, and their future application on translational medicine are addressed. Our review meticulously and critically examines the applications of nanotheranostics with various nanomaterials, including graphene, across several diseases, offering a broader perspective of this emerging field.

Exploiting the protein corona: coating of black phosphorus nanosheets enables macrophage polarization via calcium influx

Black phosphorus nanosheets (BPNSs) have substantially promoted biomedical nanotechnology due to their unique photothermal and chemotherapeutic properties. However, there is still a limited molecular understanding of the effects of bio-nano interfaces on BPNSs and the subsequent impacts on physiological systems. Here, it is shown that black phosphorus-corona complexes (BPCCs) could function as immune modulators to promote the polarization of macrophages. Mechanistically, BPCCs could interact with calmodulin to activate stromal interaction molecule 2 and facilitate Ca2+ influx in macrophages, which induced the activation of p38 and NF-κB and polarized M0 macrophages to the M1 phenotype. As a result, BPCC-activated macrophages show greater migration towards cancer cells, 1.3-1.9 times higher cellular cytotoxicity and effective phagocytosis of cancer cells. These findings offer insights into the development of potential and unique applications of corona on BPNSs in nanomedicine.

Emerging well-tailored nanoparticulate delivery system based on in situ regulation of the protein corona

The protein corona significantly changes the nanoparticle (NP) identity both physicochemically and biologically, and in situ regulation of specific plasma protein adsorption on NP surfaces has emerged as a promising strategy for disease-targeting therapy. In the past decade, great progress in protein corona regulation has been achieved via surface chemistry-based nanomedicine development. This review first outlines the latest advances in bio-nano interactions, with special attention to factors that influence the protein corona, including NP physicochemical properties, the biological environment and the duration time. Second, NP surface chemistry strategies designed to inhibit and regulate protein corona formation are highlighted, with special emphasis on albumin, transferrin, apolipoprotein (apo) E, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4). Finally, the current techniques used to characterize the protein corona are briefly discussed.

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.

Using magneto-electroluminescence as a fingerprint to identify the spin polarization and spin-orbit coupling of magnetic nanoparticle doped polymer light emitting diodes

The spin polarization and spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in polymer light emitting diodes (PLEDs) with the active layer doped with Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) were identified through magneto-electroluminescence (MEL). By comparing the MEL characteristics such as linewidth and magnitude between PLEDs with and without Fe3O4 dopant, we confirmed the existence of spin polarization, but ruled out the existence of SOC. Although the spin polarization is positive to electroluminescence, the brightness-current characteristics suggested that the current efficiency of the doped PLED does not improve. We attributed it to the current leakage caused by the Fe3O4 NPs in the active layer. This work is beneficial for us to further understand the effect of magnetic nanoparticle doping on the dynamic behavior of excitons and polaron pairs in organic semiconductor devices.

Differentiation regulation of mesenchymal stem cells via autophagy induced by structurally-different silica based nanobiomaterials

Autophagy is associated with the proliferation and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). In this study, we investigated the biological impact of silica-based nanobiomateiral-induced autophagy on the differentiation of MSCs, in which the nanoparticulate cues include solid silica nanoparticles (SSN), mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) and biodegradable mesoporous silica nanoparticles (DMSN). The treatment with SSN significantly up-regulated the LC3-II expression via ERK1/2 and AKT/mTOR signaling pathways compared to DMSN and MSN, leading to a higher autophagic activity in MSCs. The enhanced protein adsorption of DMSN and MSN could prevent the direct interaction between cells and nanoparticles, which consequently reduces the autophagic stimulation of MSCs. It should be noted that MSCs exhibited increased differentiation potential when the autophagic activity was enhanced by the treatment with different nanoparticles. In comparison, no difference in the cell differentiation potential was found when an autophagy inhibitor (chloroquine, CQ) was incorporated in all groups. The study may contribute to the development of silica-based nanobiomaterials in the future.