title: Glycans as biofunctional ligands for gold nanorods: stability and targeting in protein-rich media.
abstract: Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) has become the gold standard for stabilization of plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) in biofluids, because it prevents aggregation while minimizing unspecific interactions with proteins. Application of Au NPs in biological environments requires the use of ligands that can target selected receptors, even in the presence of protein-rich media. We demonstrate here the stabilizing effect of low-molecular-weight glycans on both spherical and rod-like plasmonic NPs under physiological conditions, as bench-marked against the well-established PEG ligands. Glycan-coated NPs are resistant to adsorption of proteins from serum-containing media and avoid phagocytosis by macrophage-like cells, but retain selectivity toward carbohydrate-binding proteins in protein-rich biological media. These results open the way toward the design of efficient therapeutic/diagnostic glycan-decorated plasmonic nanotools for specific biological applications.
authors.affiliation: †CIC biomaGUNE, Paseo de Miramón 182, 20009 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain.|‡Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), 50018 Aragon, Spain.
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: García
authors.affiliation: †CIC biomaGUNE, Paseo de Miramón 182, 20009 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Iglesias
authors.affiliation: †CIC biomaGUNE, Paseo de Miramón 182, 20009 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain.
authors.forename: Malou
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Henriksen-Lacey
authors.affiliation: †CIC biomaGUNE, Paseo de Miramón 182, 20009 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain.|§Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, 48013 Bilbao, Spain.
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grzelczak
authors.affiliation: †CIC biomaGUNE, Paseo de Miramón 182, 20009 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain.|‡Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), 50018 Aragon, Spain.
authors.forename: Soledad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Penadés
authors.affiliation: †CIC biomaGUNE, Paseo de Miramón 182, 20009 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain.|‡Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), 50018 Aragon, Spain.|§Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, 48013 Bilbao, Spain.
authors.forename: Luis M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Liz-Marzán
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D002236:Carbohydrate Conformation; D002460:Cell Line; D004355:Drug Stability; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D037102:Lectins / Q000378:metabolism; D008024:Ligands; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D051379:Mice; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008970:Molecular Weight; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000737:chemistry*; D010587:Phagocytosis / Q000187:drug effects; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D037102:Lectins; D008024:Ligands; D011134:Polysaccharides; D011506:Proteins; D006046:Gold