title: Nanoparticle hydrophobicity dictates immune response.
abstract: Understanding the interactions of nanomaterials with the immune system is essential for the engineering of new macromolecular systems for in vivo applications. Systematic study of immune activation is challenging due to the complex structure of most macromolecular probes. We present here the use of engineered gold nanoparticles to determine the sole effect of hydrophobicity on the immune response of splenocytes. The gene expression profile of a range of cytokines (immunological reporters) was analyzed against the calculated log P of the nanoparticle headgroups, with an essentially linear increase in immune activity with the increase in hydrophobicity observed in vitro. Consistent behavior was observed with in vivo mouse models, demonstrating the importance of hydrophobicity in immune system activation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts, 710 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Moyano
authors.forename: Meir
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goldsmith
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Solfiell
authors.forename: Dalit
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Landesman-Milo
authors.forename: Oscar R
authors.initials: OR
authors.lastname: Miranda
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Peer
authors.forename: Vincent M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Rotello
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016207:Cytokines / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D051379:Mice; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D006046:Gold