title: Insight into the Interaction of Graphene Oxide with Serum Proteins and the Impact of the Degree of Reduction and Concentration.
abstract: As novel applied nanomaterials, both graphene oxide (GO) and its reduced form (rGO) have attracted global attention, because of their excellent properties. However, the lack of comprehensive understanding of their interactions with biomacromolecules highly limits their biomedical applications. This work aims to initiate a systematic study on the property changes of GO/rGO upon interaction with serum proteins and on how their degree of reduction and exposure concentration affect this interaction, as well as to analyze the possible biomedical impacts of the interaction. We found that the adsorption of proteins on GO/rGO occurred spontaneously and rapidly, leading to significant changes in size, zeta potential, and morphology. Compared to rGO, GO showed a higher ability in quenching intrinsic fluorescence of serum proteins in a concentration-dependent manner. The protein adsorption efficiency and the types of associated proteins varied, depending on the degree of reduction and concentration of graphene. Our findings indicate the importance of evaluating the potential protein adsorption before making use of GO/rGO in drug delivery, because the changed physicochemical properties after protein adsorption will have significant impacts on safety and effectiveness of these delivery systems. On the other hand, this interaction can also be used for the separation, purification, or delivery of certain proteins.
authors.affiliation: †State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
authors.forename: Xue-Qin
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: †State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
authors.forename: Li-Ying
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: †State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Ru
authors.initials: XR
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.affiliation: ‡Key Laboratory of Drug Targeting and Drug Delivery Systems, Ministry of Education, West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
authors.forename: Quan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: †State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Qin
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: ‡Key Laboratory of Drug Targeting and Drug Delivery Systems, Ministry of Education, West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Rong
authors.initials: ZR
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: †State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
authors.forename: Yun-Feng
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: †State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Peng
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D000818:Animals; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism*; D002417:Cattle; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001798:Blood Proteins; D010087:Oxides; D006108:Graphite
keywords: drug delivery; graphene oxide; nanomaterials; protein adsorption; reduced graphene oxide; safety