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Controllable Engineering and Functionalizing of Nanoparticles for Targeting Specific Proteins towards Biomedical
Zhanchen Guo1, Rongrong Xing1, Menghuan Zhao1
1State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China.
Advanced Science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)
|November 2, 2021
Summary
A novel nanoparticle engineering method, ROSIC, enables precise protein targeting for biomedical applications. This approach creates highly specific nanoparticles for advanced imaging and therapies, overcoming limitations of current strategies.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Nanotechnology
- Materials Science
Background:
- Nanoparticles are crucial for biomedical applications like imaging and drug delivery.
- Current protein targeting methods using bioligands often face limitations in efficacy and complexity.
- Developing advanced nanoparticles with specific targeting capabilities is essential for improved diagnostics and therapeutics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce a novel and versatile method for engineering coreless and core/shell nanoparticles.
- To develop nanoparticles with specific targeting capabilities for proteins and peptides.
- To demonstrate the efficacy of these engineered nanoparticles in targeted imaging applications.
Main Methods:
- Reverse microemulsion-confined epitope-oriented surface imprinting and cladding (ROSIC) was employed for nanoparticle engineering.
- Coreless imprinted and cladded silica nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized.
- Various core substrates (quantum dots, superparamagnetic nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles, upconverting nanoparticles) were used to create diverse imprinted and cladded core/shell nanoparticles.
Main Results:
- The ROSIC method successfully produced coreless and core/shell nanoparticles with tunable size and monodispersity.
- Engineered nanoparticles demonstrated high specificity and affinity for target proteins.
- In vitro and in vivo targeted imaging of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells and tumors was achieved using fluorescently imprinted nanoparticles.
Conclusions:
- The ROSIC approach offers a facile, versatile, and controllable method for engineering targeted nanoparticles.
- This technique overcomes challenges associated with conventional surface modification strategies.
- The developed nanoparticles show significant promise for targeted biomedical applications, including cancer imaging and therapy.
