Abstract
Gold nanorods (GNRs) are considered one of the most promising forms of nanoparticles for nanobiotechnology; however, the problem of their toxicity is currently not resolved. We synthesised GNRs, modified with linear polyethyleneimine (PEI-GNRs), and examined their physicochemical and some biological properties in comparison with GNRs modified with BSA and spherical gold nanoparticles (sGNPs) modified with the same agents. The influence of the buffer, cell culture media, and serum on hydrodynamic diameter and zeta potential of all GNPs was studied. Simultaneously, the size, shape, and formation of a corona were examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). PEI-GNRs and GNPs were nontoxic for BHK-21 and HeLa cells (MTT test). Penetration of all GNPs into BHK-21, melanoma B16, and HeLa cells was examined after 30 min, 3 h, and 24 h of incubation using TEM ultrathin sections. PEI-GNRs and PEI-sGNPs demonstrated fast and active penetration into cells by caveolin-dependent and lipid raft-mediated endocytosis and accumulated in endosomes and lysosomes. BSA-modified GNPs showed prolonged flotation and a significant delay in cell penetration. The results show that the charge of initial NPs determines penetration into cells. Thus, the designed PEI-GNRs were nontoxic and stable in cell culture media and could efficiently penetrate cells.
Highlights
Gold nanoforms are widely used in biomedical and biotechnological research because of their unique physicochemical properties described in comprehensive reviews [1,2,3,4,5]
We found that modification of both gold nanorods (GNRs) and spherical gold nanoparticles (GNPs) (sGNPs) with linear PEI resulted in more active uptake by cells in comparison with GNRs and sGNPs modified with bovine serum albumin (BSA), both BSA and PEI coatings reduced the toxicity of modified GNPs
We found that hydrodynamic sizes of PEI- and BSAgold nanorods increased substantially compared with CTABGNRs in the same liquids, while the hydrodynamic sizes of various spherical GNPs were similar to the initial sGNPs
Summary
Gold nanoforms are widely used in biomedical and biotechnological research because of their unique physicochemical properties described in comprehensive reviews [1,2,3,4,5]. The high toxicity of CTAB was a stumbling block to the use of GNRs in biomedicine. To overcome this barrier, the coating of the surface of CTAB-GNRs was modified with various reagents, which reduced the toxicity and provided high stability [9]. Various coatings have been proposed to improve the toxicity of CTAB-GNRs, that is, thiol-modified polyethylene glycol [10], organothiol compounds (3-amino5-mercapto-1,2,4-triazole and 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid) [11], poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) polymer [12], polystyrene sulfonate sodium salt [13], phosphatidylcholine [14], and Pluronic F-127 [15]
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