ao7b01878_si_001.pdf (736.53 kB)
Phytochemicals as Dynamic Surface Ligands To Control Nanoparticle–Protein Interactions
journal contribution
posted on 2018-02-22, 15:21 authored by Amanda N. Abraham, Tarun K. Sharma, Vipul Bansal, Ravi ShuklaThe
rapid formation of the protein corona on to the nanoparticle
(NP) surface is the key that confers biological identity to NPs and
subsequently dictates their fate both in vitro and in vivo. Despite
significant efforts, the inability to control the spontaneous interaction
of serum proteins with the administered NPs remains a major constraint
in clinical translation of nanomedicines. The ligands present on the
NP surface offer promise in controlling their biological interactions;
however, their influence on the NP–protein interaction is not
well-understood. The current study investigates the potential of phytochemical-capped
silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) toward allowing a control over NP interactions
with the human serum albumin (HSA), the most abundant protein in the
biological fluids. Specifically, we demonstrate the ability of curcumin
(Cur) and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) to independently act as
reducing agents to produce phytochemical-capped AgNPs that show biologically
desirable interactions with HSA. The key finding of our study is that
the phytochemical-capped AgNPs initially interact with HSA more strongly
compared to the citrate-stabilized AgNPs; however, the resultant NP–HSA
complexes are less stable in the case of the former, which causes
a lesser degree of changes in the protein conformation during interactions.
Further, the choice of the phytochemical allows control over NP–HSA
interactions, such that Cur- and EGCG-capped AgNPs interacted with
HSA in a static versus dynamic manner, respectively. The diversity
of the functional groups present in natural phytochemicals and their
potential as in situ capping ligands during synthesis offer new opportunities
in controlling the interactions of NPs with complex biological fluids,
with implications in nanodiagnostics and nanomedicine.