title: Surface-modified gold nanoshells for enhanced cellular uptake.
abstract: Gold nanoshells have shown a great potential for use as agents in a wide variety of biomedical applications, and some of which require the delivery of large numbers of gold nanoshells onto or into the cells. Here, we develop a ready method to enhance the cellular uptake of gold nanoshells by modifying with meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA). The quantifiable technique of inductively coupled plasma atomic emissions spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to investigate the cellular uptake of unmodified and DMSA-modified gold nanoshells. Three cell lines (RAW 264.7, A549, and BEL-7402) were involved and the results indicated that the cellular uptake of the DMSA-modified gold nanoshells was obviously enhanced versus the unmodified gold nanoshells. The reason possibly lies in the nonspecific adsorption of serum protein on the DMSA-modified gold nanoshells (DMSA-GNs), which consequently enhanced the cellular uptake. As a continued effort, in vitro experiments with endocytic inhibitors suggested the DMSA-GNs internalized into cells via receptor-mediated endocytosis (RME) pathway. This study has provided a valuable insight into the effects of surface modification on cellular uptake of nanoparticles.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Zhongshi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xiangyang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Qinge
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jiahui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Shufang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Lihui
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Shunying
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002460:Cell Line; D004705:Endocytosis / Q000502:physiology*; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D051379:Mice; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D057145:Nanoshells / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010316:Particle Size
chemical_list: D001798:Blood Proteins; D006046:Gold