title: Size-Dependent Protein-Nanoparticle Interactions in Citrate-Stabilized Gold Nanoparticles: The Emergence of the Protein Corona.
abstract: Surface modifications of highly monodisperse citrate-stabilized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with sizes ranging from 3.5 to 150 nm after their exposure to cell culture media supplemented with fetal bovine serum were studied and characterized by the combined use of UV-vis spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and zeta potential measurements. In all the tested AuNPs, a dynamic process of protein adsorption was observed, evolving toward the formation of an irreversible hard protein coating known as Protein Corona. Interestingly, the thickness and density of this protein coating were strongly dependent on the particle size, making it possible to identify different transition regimes as the size of the particles increased: (i) NP-protein complexes (or incomplete corona), (ii) the formation of a near-single dense protein corona layer, and (iii) the formation of a multilayer corona. In addition, the different temporal patterns in the evolution of the protein coating came about more quickly for small particles than for the larger ones, further revealing the significant role that size plays in the kinetics of this process. Since the biological identity of the NPs is ultimately determined by the protein corona and different NP-biological interactions take place at different time scales, these results are relevant to biological and toxicological studies.
authors.affiliation: Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (ICN2), CSIC and The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) , Campus UAB, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.|Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) , Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Piella
authors.affiliation: Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (ICN2), CSIC and The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) , Campus UAB, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Neus G
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3144-7986
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Bastús
authors.affiliation: Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (ICN2), CSIC and The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) , Campus UAB, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.|Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA) , P. Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain.|Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca (VHIR) , 08035, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Víctor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Puntes
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D002951:Citrates / Q000737:chemistry*; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D002951:Citrates; D011506:Proteins; D006046:Gold