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Carbon Nano-Onions as Non-Cytotoxic Carriers for Cellular Uptake of Glycopeptides and Proteins
Marta d'Amora1, Viviana Maffeis1, Rosaria Brescia2
1Nano Carbon Materials, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Via Livorno, 60, 10144 Turin, Italy.
Abstract:
Carbon nano-onions (CNOs) possess favorable properties that make them suitable for biomedical applications, including their small size, ready surface modification, and good biocompatibility. Here, we report the covalent immobilization of a synthetic glycopeptide and the protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) onto the surface of carbon nano-onions using the maleimide-thiol "addition reaction". The glycopeptide and BSA are readily transported inside different cell lines, together with carbon nano-onions, through the endocytosis pathway. Our results show that carbon nano-onions are excellent scaffolds for glycopeptides and proteins immobilization and act as intracellular carriers for these biomolecules. These findings open new perspectives in the application of carbon nano-onions as intracellular transporters in diverse biomedical applications.
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