Protein–protein interactions between SWCNT/chitosan/EGF and EGF receptor: a model of drug delivery system

Abstract

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) was used as the targeting ligand to enhance the specificity of a cancer drug delivery system (DDS) via its specific interaction with the EGF receptor (EGFR) that is overexpressed on the surface of some cancer cells. To investigate the intermolecular interaction and binding affinity between the EGF-conjugated DDS and the EGFR, 50 ns molecular dynamics simulations were performed on the complex of tethered EGFR and EGF linked to single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) through a biopolymer chitosan wrapping the tube outer surface (EGFR·EGF-CS-SWCNT-Drug complex), and compared to the EGFR·EGF complex and free EGFR. The binding pattern of the EGF-CS-SWCNT-Drug complex to the EGFR was broadly comparable to that for EGF, but the binding affinity of the EGF-CS-SWCNT-Drug complex was predicted to be somewhat better than that for EGF alone. Additionally, the chitosan chain could prevent undesired interactions of SWCNT at the binding pocket region. Therefore, EGF connected to SWCNT via a chitosan linker is a seemingly good formulation for developing a smart DDS served as part of an alternative cancer therapy.

Augmentation of C17.2 Neural Stem Cell Differentiation via Uptake of Low Concentrations of ssDNA‐Wrapped Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes

“…One current challenge for both applications is tracking and controlling these cells in vivo. To do so would require a strategy that allows for non-invasively and safely labeling the cells for imaging; carbon nanotubes could provide one such label, given their unique properties 1,5,23,26,28,30,38,42,[71][72][73] . However, limited scientific study exists that examine the impact of nanomaterial uptake on the downstream fate of neural stem cells, especially over multiple division cycles.…”

“…To do so would require a strategy that allows for noninvasively and safely labeling the cells for imaging; carbon nanotubes could provide one such label, given their unique properties. [1,5,23,26,28,30,38,42,[71][72][73] However, limited scientific study exists that examine the impact of nanomaterial uptake on the downstream fate of neural stem cells, especially over multiple division cycles. The study below demonstrates that the interactions of extremely small quantities of carbon nanotubes with neural stem cells can elicit exciting, but unexpected effects on neuronal differentiation potential.…”

Fluorescent Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Protein Detection

“…The non-photobleaching, non-blinking fluorescent emission of SWCNTs plays a key role in rendering them optical sensors, enabling in situ, label-free, real-time detection with both spatial and temporal resolution [89,113,115]. Recent studies have demonstrated the detection of proteins using various approaches for surface functionalization, including natural substrates [53,121,125] and synthetic polymers [89,129,145], with the potential to enable long-term continuous monitoring of important biomarkers or to replace costly and time-consuming laboratory testing [173]. We have highlighted the advantages of SWCNTs for in-vivo and in-vitro biomedical applications such as drug delivery, imaging, and sensing, focusing on protein recognition.…”

The Application of Inorganic Nanoparticles in Molecular Targeted Cancer Therapy: EGFR Targeting

“…The fabrication and bioimaging applications of carbon dots (CQDs) have rapidly advanced in recent years because of their photostablity and chemical stability. Importantly, CQDs contain no heavy metals, suggesting lower biotoxicity than semiconductor QDs ( Bhirde et al, 2009 ; Berlin et al, 2011 ; Sano et al, 2012 ; Lee et al, 2013 ; Rungnim et al, 2016 ; Sengupta et al, 2015 ). When CQDs were modified with EGF antibody, the functionalized CQDs have been invested with specific targeting.…”