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An index for characterization of nanomaterials in biological systems

Nature Nanotechnology volume 5, pages 671–675 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

In a physiological environment, nanoparticles selectively absorb proteins to form ‘nanoparticle–protein coronas’1,2,3,4,5, a process governed by molecular interactions between chemical groups on the nanoparticle surfaces and the amino-acid residues of the proteins6,7,8. Here, we propose a biological surface adsorption index to characterize these interactions by quantifying the competitive adsorption of a set of small molecule probes onto the nanoparticles. The adsorption properties of nanomaterials are assumed to be governed by Coulomb forces, London dispersion, hydrogen-bond acidity and basicity, polarizability and lone-pair electrons. Adsorption coefficients of the probe compounds were measured and used to create a set of nanodescriptors representing the contributions and relative strengths of each molecular interaction. The method successfully predicted the adsorption of various small molecules onto carbon nanotubes, and the nanodescriptors were also measured for 12 other nanomaterials. The biological surface adsorption index nanodescriptors can be used to develop pharmacokinetic and safety assessment models for nanomaterials.

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Figure 1: Illustration of the competitive adsorption of small molecules and proteins onto the surface adsorption sites of nanoparticles.
Figure 2: Relative molecular interaction strengths at the nano–water interface.
Figure 3: Predictive model performance and validation for MWCNTs.
Figure 4: Radar compass plot comparing the five nanodescriptors of 12 different nanomaterials.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the USEPA STAR grant no. R833328 and the United States Air Force Office of Scientific Research (USAFOSR) grant no. FA9550-08-1-0182. The authors thank J. Brooks for help in QSAR validation techniques.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Chemical Toxicology Research and Pharmacokinetics (CCTRP), North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

    Xin-Rui Xia, Nancy A. Monteiro-Riviere & Jim E. Riviere

Authors
  1. Xin-Rui Xia
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  2. Nancy A. Monteiro-Riviere
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  3. Jim E. Riviere
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Contributions

X.-R.X. conceived, conducted and designed the experiments and analysed the resulting data. N.A.M.-R. initiated the application of this technique to nanomaterial characterization and provided biological context. J.E.R. conceived the BSAI concept and contributed to data analysis and interpretation. All three authors were involved in writing and revising the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jim E. Riviere.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Xia, XR., Monteiro-Riviere, N. & Riviere, J. An index for characterization of nanomaterials in biological systems. Nature Nanotech 5, 671–675 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2010.164

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