Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 25, 2026

Capillary Electrophoresis Mass Spectrometry Approaches for Characterization of the Protein and Metabolite Corona Acquired by Nanomaterials
Published on: October 27, 2020
Influence of carbon nanomaterial defects on the formation of protein corona
Bishwambhar Sengupta1, Wren E Gregory1, Jingyi Zhu2
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson Nanomaterials Center, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634, United States ; Laboratory of nano-biophysics, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634, United States.
Abstract:
In any physiological media, carbon nanomaterials (CNM) strongly interact with biomolecules leading to the formation of biocorona, which subsequently dictate the physiological response and the fate of CNMs. Defects in CNMs play an important role not only in material properties but also in the determination of how materials interact at the nano-bio interface. In this article, we probed the influence of defect-induced hydrophilicity on the biocorona formation using micro-Raman, photoluminescence, infrared spectroscopy, electrochemistry, and molecular dynamics simulations. Our results show that the interaction of proteins (albumin and fibrinogen) with CNMs is strongly influenced by charge-transfer between them, inducing protein unfolding which enhances conformational entropy and higher protein adsorption.
Related Concept Videos
Imperfections in Crystal Structure: Non-Stoichiometric Defects
Imperfections in Crystal Structure: Stoichiometric Point Defects
Protein Folding
Protein Folding
Protein Structure Is Critical to Its Biological Function
Proteins perform a wide range of biological functions such as catalyzing chemical reactions, providing...
Amyloid Fibrils
Amyloid deposits were observed as early as 1639 in the liver and the spleen. In 1854, Rudolph Virchow performed iodine staining,...
Protein Denaturation

