Surface Chemistry-Dependent Evolution of the Nanomaterial Corona on TiO2 Nanomaterials Following Uptake and Sub-Cellular Localization

Journal article

Nanomaterial (NM) surface chemistry has an established and significant effect on interactions at the nano-bio interface, with important toxicological consequences for manufactured NMs, as well as potent effects on the pharmacokinetics and efficacy of nano-therapies. In this work, the effects of different surface modifications (PVP, Dispex AA4040, and Pluronic F127) on the uptake, cellular distribution, and degradation of titanium dioxide NMs (TiO2 NMs, ~10 nm core size) are assessed and correlated with the localization of fluorescently-labeled serum proteins forming their coronas. Imaging approaches with an increasing spatial resolution, including automated high throughput live cell imaging, correlative confocal fluorescence and reflectance microscopy, and dSTORM super-resolution microscopy, are used to explore the cellular fate of these NMs and their associated serum proteins. Uncoated TiO2 NMs demonstrate a rapid loss of corona proteins, while surface coating results in the retention of the corona signal after internalization for at least 24 h (varying with coating composition). Imaging with two-color super-resolution dSTORM revealed that the apparent TiO2 NM single agglomerates observed in diffraction-limited confocal microscopy are actually adjacent smaller agglomerates, and provides novel insights into the spatial arrangement of the initial and exchanged coronas adsorbed at the NM surfaces

Authors: Khan, AO; Di Maio, A; Guggenheim, EJ; Chetwynd, AJ; Pencross, D

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: MDPI
• Journal: Nanomaterials
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 401-401
• Publication date: 2020-02-25
• DOI: 10.3390/nano10030401
• EISSN: 2079-4991
• ISSN: 2079-4991
• Language: English
• Keywords: Nanomaterials; Internalization; Corona (planetary geology); Nanotoxicology