Direct interaction of hydrophilic gold nanoparticles with dexamethasone drug: loading and release study.
Water-soluble gold nanoparticles functionalized by sodium 3-mercapto-1-propansulfonate (Au-3MPS) were synthesized with different Au/thiol molar ratios for their ability to interact with biomolecules. In particular, a synthetic glucocorticoid steroid, i.e. dexamethasone (DXM) was selected. Herein, the formation of the Au-3MPS/DXM bioconjugate is reported. Au-3MPS nanoparticles show a plasmon resonance at 520 nm, have a spherical morphology and average size of 7-10 nm. The total number of gold atoms was estimated to be about 10600, with a surface component of 8800 atoms and a number of thiol ligands of about 720, roughly one anchored thiol every 10 surface gold atoms. The drug-nanoparticle interaction occurs through the fluorine atom of DXM and Au(I) atoms on the gold nanoparticle surface. The 3MPS ligands closely pack apart each other to leave room for the DXM, that lies at the gold surface in an unusual, almost parallel feature. The loading efficiency of DXM on Au-3MPS was assessed in the range 70-80%, depending on the thiol content. Moreover, our studies confirmed the drug release of about 70% in 5 days. Thanks to their unique properties, i.e. high water solubility, small size and almost monodispersity, Au-3MPS display high potential in biotechnological and biomedical applications, mainly for the loading and release of water insoluble drugs.
Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Iole
I
Venditti
Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Laura
L
Fontana
Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; Center for Nanotechnology for Engineering (CNIS), Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: ilaria.fratoddi@uniroma1.it.
Ilaria
I
Fratoddi
Department of Science, Roma Tre University of Rome, Via della Vasca Navale 79, 00146 Rome, Italy.
Chiara
C
Battocchio
Department of Physic and CNR-IPCF UOS of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Cesare
C
Cametti
Department of Physic and CNR-IPCF UOS of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Simona
S
Sennato
Center for Nanotechnology for Engineering (CNIS), Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Francesco
F
Mura
Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Fabio
F
Sciubba
Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Maurizio
M
Delfini
Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Maria Vittoria
MV
Russo
D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal / Q000737:chemistry*; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations / Q000737:chemistry*; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000737:chemistry*; D004339:Drug Compounding; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D007700:Kinetics; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D010316:Particle Size; D012995:Solubility; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance; D014494:Unithiol / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water
D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D014867:Water; D014494:Unithiol; D006046:Gold; D003907:Dexamethasone
Dexamethasone; Drug delivery; Drug loading; Functionalized nanoparticles; Hydrophilic gold nanoparticles