title: Imaging inward and outward trafficking of gold nanoparticles in whole animals.
abstract: Gold nanoparticles have emerged as novel safe and biocompatible tools for manifold applications, including biological imaging, clinical diagnostics, and therapeutics. The understanding of the mechanisms governing their interaction with living systems may help the design and development of new platforms for nanomedicine. Here we characterized the dynamics and kinetics of the events underlying the interaction of gold nanoparticles with a living organism, from the first interaction nanoparticle/cell membrane, to the intracellular trafficking and final extracellular clearance. By treating a simple water invertebrate (the cnidarian Hydra polyp) with functionalized gold nanoparticles, multiple inward and outward routes were imaged by ultrastructural analyses, including exosomes as novel undescribed carriers to shuttle the nanoparticles in and out the cells. From the time course imaging a highly dynamic picture emerged in which nanoparticles are rapidly internalized (from 30 min onward), recruited into vacuoles/endosome (24 h onward), which then fuse, compact and sort out the internalized material either to storage vacuoles or to late-endosome/lysosomes, determining almost complete clearance within 48 h from challenging. Beside classical routes, new portals of entry/exit were captured, including exosome-like structures as novel undescribed nanoparticle shuttles. The conservation of the endocytic/secretory machinery through evolution extends the value of our finding to mammalian systems providing dynamics and kinetics clues to take into account when designing nanomaterials to interface with biological entities.
authors: Istituto di Cibernetica ″E.Caianiello″, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Campi Flegrei, 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy.
authors: Valentina
authors: V
authors: Marchesano
authors: Yulan
authors: Y
authors: Hernandez
authors: Willi
authors: W
authors: Salvenmoser
authors: Alfredo
authors: A
authors: Ambrosone
authors: Angela
authors: A
authors: Tino
authors: Bert
authors: B
authors: Hobmayer
authors: Jesus M
authors: JM
authors: de la Fuente
authors: Claudia
authors: C
authors: Tortiglione
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001693:Biological Transport, Active; D011992:Endosomes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005089:Exocytosis; D055354:Exosomes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D016259:Genes, myc; D006046:Gold; D006829:Hydra / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D007700:Kinetics; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D058726:Nanoconjugates / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure; D036103:Nanotechnology; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D014617:Vacuoles / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D058726:Nanoconjugates; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D006046:Gold