Interactions of gold nanoparticles with a phospholipid monolayer membrane on mercury

It is demonstrated that a compact monolayer of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine adsorbed to a hanging mercury drop electrode can serve as a simple electrochemical model system to study biomembrane penetration by gold nanoparticles. The hydrogen redox-chemistry characteristic of ligand-stabilized gold nanoparticles in molecularly close contact with a mercury electrode is used as an indicator of membrane penetration. Results for water-dispersible gold nanoparticles of two different sizes are reported, and comparisons are made with the cellular uptake of the same preparations of nanoparticles by a common human fibroblast cell line. The experimental system described here can be used to study physicochemical aspects of membrane penetration in the absence of complex biological mechanisms, and it could also be a starting point for the development of a test bed for the toxicity of nanomaterials.