ja5b01001_si_001.pdf (20.11 MB)
Glycans as Biofunctional Ligands for Gold Nanorods: Stability and Targeting in Protein-Rich Media
journal contribution
posted on 2015-12-17, 07:38 authored by Isabel García, Ana Sánchez-Iglesias, Malou Henriksen-Lacey, Marek Grzelczak, Soledad Penadés, Luis M. Liz-MarzánPoly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) has become
the gold standard for stabilization of plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs)
in biofluids, because it prevents aggregation while minimizing unspecific
interactions with proteins. Application of Au NPs in biological environments
requires the use of ligands that can target selected receptors, even
in the presence of protein-rich media. We demonstrate here the stabilizing
effect of low-molecular-weight glycans on both spherical and rod-like
plasmonic NPs under physiological conditions, as bench-marked against
the well-established PEG ligands. Glycan-coated NPs are resistant
to adsorption of proteins from serum-containing media and avoid phagocytosis
by macrophage-like cells, but retain selectivity toward carbohydrate-binding
proteins in protein-rich biological media. These results open the
way toward the design of efficient therapeutic/diagnostic
glycan-decorated plasmonic nanotools for specific biological applications.