title: Stabilization of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in biological media by fetal bovine serum (FBS).
abstract: A facile method of stabilizing magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (MNPs) in biological media (RPMI-1640) via surface modification with fetal bovine serum (FBS) is presented herein. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) shows that the size of the MNP aggregates can be maintained at 190 ± 2 nm for up to 16 h in an RPMI 1640 culture medium containing ≥4 vol % FBS. Under transmission electron microscopy (TEM), a layer of protein coating is observed to cover the MNP surface following treatment with FBS. The adsorption of proteins is further confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Gel electrophoresis and LC-MS/MS studies reveal that complement factor H, antithrombin, complement factor I, α-1-antiproteinase, and apolipoprotein E are the proteins most strongly attached to the surface of an MNP. These surface-adsorbed proteins serve as a linker that aids the adsorption of other serum proteins, such as albumin, which otherwise adsorb poorly onto MNPs. The size stability of FBS-treated MNPs in biological media is attributed to the secondary adsorbed proteins, and the size stability in biological media can be maintained only when both the surface-adsorbed proteins and the secondary adsorbed proteins are present on the particle's surface.
authors.affiliation: ARC Centre of Excellence for Functional Nanomaterials, School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Hilda T R
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Wiogo
authors.forename: May
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Volga
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bulmus
authors.forename: Jimmy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.forename: Rose
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Amal
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry*; D005290:Ferric Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry*; D008280:Magnetics; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D005290:Ferric Compounds; C000499:ferric oxide