The Nanomaterial Metabolite Corona Determined Using a Quantitative Metabolomics Approach: A Pilot Study

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Toxicology

Background:

• Nanomaterials (NMs) interact with biological systems, forming a biomolecular corona.
• Research has focused on the protein corona's impact on NM behavior and safety.
• Metabolites, crucial for metabolic pathways, have been overlooked in corona studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the formation and composition of the metabolite corona on various nanomaterials.
• To compare metabolite corona formation in protein-free and protein-containing environments.
• To highlight the importance of the metabolite corona in nanosafety assessments.

Main Methods:

• Utilized capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry based metabolomics.
• Analyzed the adsorption of polar ionogenic metabolite standards to six different NMs.
• Quantitatively compared metabolite corona composition with and without proteins in plasma samples.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated differential adsorption of metabolite standards to various NMs (SiO2, TiO2, polystyrene).
• Showed that proteins significantly alter the composition of the metabolite corona.
• Established that the metabolite corona is a critical factor in NM-biological interactions.

Conclusions:

• The metabolite corona plays a significant role in the bio-nano interface.
• Future nanosafety assessments must consider the metabolite corona alongside the protein corona.
• Understanding the metabolite corona is essential for predicting NM uptake, toxicity, and biological responses.