Efficacy of nanoparticles (NPs) used in nanomedicine could be lowered by uncontrolled adsorption of proteins coming from biological fluids they interact with. In a recent study, a cocktail of proteins on the surface of iron oxide NPs was analyzed and selected, in vivo, to understand biocirculation of these NPs. This study is opening the way of using specific proteins on NPs to optimize nanomedical solutions especially for personalized medicine.
Abstract
The therapeutic efficacy and adverse impacts of nanoparticles (NPs) are strongly dependent on their systemic circulation time. The corona proteins adsorbed on the NPs determine their plasma half-lives, and hence, it is crucial to identify the proteins shortening or extending their circulation time. In this work, the in vivo circulation time and corona composition of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) with different surface charges/chemistries were analyzed over time. SPIONs with neutral and positive charges showed the longest and shortest circulation times, respectively. The most striking observation was that corona-coated NPs with similar opsonin/dysopsonin content showed different circulation times, implying these biomolecules are not the only contributing factors. Long-circulating NPs adsorb higher concentrations of osteopontin, lipoprotein lipase, coagulation factor VII, matrix Gla protein, secreted phosphoprotein 24, alpha-2-HS-glycoprotein, and apolipoprotein C-I, while short-circulating NPs adsorb higher amounts of hemoglobin. Therefore, these proteins may be considered to be determining factors governing the NP systemic circulation time.
This study was an international collaboration between the Laboratory ICB and CGFL in Dijon (F), the university of Geneva (CH), the university of Notre Dame in Indiana (USA) and Stanford (USA). It was published in the prestigious journal of the American Chemical Society: ACS Nano.
Identification of the Proteins Determining the Blood Circulation Time of Nanoparticles; Cintia Marques, Mohammad Javad Hajipour, Célia Marets, Alexandra Oudot, Reihaneh Safavi-Sohi, Mélanie Guillemin, Gerrit Borchard, Olivier Jordan, Lucien Saviot and Lionel Maurizi ; ACS Nano; 2023; 17; 13; 12458–12470. Link
Link to open archive