Effect of Surface Chemistry and Associated Protein Corona on the Long-Term Biodegradation of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles In Vivo

Abstract

The protein corona formed on the surface of a nanoparticle in a biological medium determines its behavior in vivo. Herein, iron oxide nanoparticles containing the same core and shell, but bearing two different surface coatings, either glucose or poly(ethylene glycol), were evaluated. The nanoparticles' protein adsorption, in vitro degradation, and in vivo biodistribution and biotransformation over four months were investigated. Although both types of nanoparticles bound similar amounts of proteins in vitro, the differences in the protein corona composition correlated to the nanoparticles biodistribution in vivo. Interestingly, in vitro degradation studies demonstrated faster degradation for nanoparticles functionalized with glucose, whereas the in vivo results were opposite with accelerated biodegradation and clearance of the nanoparticles functionalized with poly(ethylene glycol). Therefore, the variation in the degradation rate observed in vivo could be related not only to the molecules attached to the surface, but also with the associated protein corona, as the key role of the adsorbed proteins on the magnetic core degradation has been demonstrated in vitro.

Protein Corona Modulates Distribution and Toxicological Effects of Silver Nanoparticles In Vivo

“…Quantification assay showed significant differences in the amount of proteins found in biomolecular corona of different AgNPs ( Figure ). This was not surprising and it was already described by other authors …”

“…Two types of proteins, ALB and MT, were used to prepare model protein‐coated AgNPs (ALB‐AgNPs and MT‐AgNPs, respectively). Considering that species‐specific response during in vivo exposure may be affected by the source and origin of proteins from biomolecular corona, special care was taken during design of protein‐coated AgNPs. Only proteins of rat origin were used to prepare ALB‐AgNPs and MT‐AgNPs.…”

“…Formation of Protein Corona In Vitro : Evaluation of protein corona formed on the surface of AgNPs in vitro was performed following previously established protocol . All three types of AgNPs (at concentration of 100 mg Ag L −1 ) were exposed either to PBS or to rat plasma diluted in the PBS to 10% (v/v) in a final volume of 0.5 mL.…”

“…It has been also demonstrated that the protein corona may alter the release profile of the drugs from the nanodrug delivery systems . At the level of the entire organism, the final outcome of exposure to AgNPs would then largely depend on the protein corona formed on their surface . In spite of a plethora of studies published on the role of protein corona on the efficacy and/or safety of NPs in biomedical applications, only several studies have considered the impact of a protein corona on the biodistribution and biological effects of NPs in vivo .…”

Cytotoxicity-Related Bioeffects Induced by Nanoparticles: The Role of Surface Chemistry

“…For example, PEG decorated ZnO NPs (39 ± 4 nm) exhibited a lower level of protein adsorption from FBS compared to bare ZnO NPs (Luo et al, 2014). Compared to NPs with glucose decoration, PEG-iron oxide NPs (12 nm) bound fewer proteins (Stepien et al, 2018). PEG decoration was also found to reduce the adsorption of BSA and IgG compared to pristine multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs, with an average diameter of 10-20 nm and length of 5-15 µm) (Zhang T. et al, 2019).…”