title: Effect of gold nanorod surface chemistry on cellular response.
abstract: Gold nanorods (GNRs) stabilized with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and GNR functionalized via a ligand exchange method with either thiolated polyethylene glycol (PEG(5000)) or mercaptohexadecanoic acid (MHDA) were investigated for their stability in biological media and subsequent toxicological effects to HaCaT cells. GNR-PEG and GNR-MHDA exhibited minimal effects on cell proliferation, whereas GNR-CTAB reduced cell proliferation significantly due to the inherent toxicity of the cationic surfactant to cells. Cell uptake studies indicated relatively low uptake for GNR-PEG and high uptake for GNR-MHDA. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) revealed that GNR-PEG induced less significant and unique changes in the transcription levels of 84 genes related to stress and toxicity compared to GNR-MHDA. The results demonstrate that, although cell proliferation was not affected by both particles, there is a significant difference in gene expression in GNR-MHDA exposed cells, suggesting long-term implications for chronic exposure.
authors.affiliation: Applied Biotechnology Branch, Human Effectiveness Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio 45433, USA.
authors.forename: Christin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Grabinski
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schaeublin
authors.forename: Andy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wijaya
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: D'Couto
authors.forename: Salmaan H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Baxamusa
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hamad-Schifferli
authors.forename: Saber M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Hussain