Abstract
The shape and size of nanoparticles are important parameters affecting their biodistribution, bioactivity, and toxicity. The high-throughput characterisation of the nanoparticle shape in dispersion is a fundamental prerequisite for realistic in vitro and in vivo evaluation, however, with routinely available bench-top optical characterisation techniques, it remains a challenging task. Herein, we demonstrate the efficacy of a single particle extinction and scattering (SPES) technique for the in situ detection of the shape of nanoparticles in dispersion, applied to a small library of anisotropic gold particles, with a potential development for in-line detection. The use of SPES paves the way to the routine quantitative analysis of nanoparticles dispersed in biologically relevant fluids, which is of importance for the nanosafety assessment and any in vitro and in vivo administration of nanomaterials.
Highlights
The characterisation of nanoparticle interactions in contact with complex biological entities must take into account the behaviour of nanosized objects in different media as the nanoparticles may be affected by a number of biomolecules present therein, which can significantly influence their aggregation state and alter the dispersion quality, overall shape, bioavailability, and efficacy in the case of diagnostic or therapeutic applications.[5]
The shape library of anisotropic gold nanoparticles designed for this work is illustrated in Fig. 1, while full information on the nanoparticle preparation and their physico chemical characterisation is available in the Electronic supplementary information (ESI) Table S1.† This library consists of nanoparticles with three distinct shapes: spherical gold nanoparticles of 60 and 80 nm (GNP1, GNP2), branched gold nanoparticles of 60 and 120 nm nominal core diameter (GNP3, GNP4) and gold nanorods with different aspect ratios (90 × 40 nm; 68 × 13 nm; GNP5, GNP6)
Note that in order to compare the size range of branched nanoparticles with spherical nanoparticles we have developed a novel approach to automatically size anisotropic nanoparticles from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs
Summary
Nanoparticle design aimed at applications in nanomedicine is constantly introducing new complex and often multicomponent nanoparticles that require advanced characterisation techniques to keep up with the technological advances.[1,2] The evaluation of the biological response, pharmacokinetics and, in general, the in vitro and in vivo characterisation for the assessment of nanosafety and efficacy behaviour of nanoparticles (NPs) are the key enabling factors for the development of reliable nanoparticle-based diagnostics, therapeutic tools and toxicology.[3,4] The characterisation of nanoparticle interactions in contact with complex biological entities must take into account the behaviour of nanosized objects in different media as the nanoparticles may be affected by a number of biomolecules present therein, which can significantly influence their aggregation state and alter the dispersion quality, overall shape, bioavailability, and efficacy in the case of diagnostic or therapeutic applications.[5]The physico-chemical properties of nanoparticles influence their toxicological behaviour but the link between the two is far from being completely understood. Nanoparticle design aimed at applications in nanomedicine is constantly introducing new complex and often multicomponent nanoparticles that require advanced characterisation techniques to keep up with the technological advances.[1,2] The evaluation of the biological response, pharmacokinetics and, in general, the in vitro and in vivo characterisation for the assessment of nanosafety and efficacy behaviour of nanoparticles (NPs) are the key enabling factors for the development of reliable nanoparticle-based diagnostics, therapeutic tools and toxicology.[3,4] The characterisation of nanoparticle interactions in contact with complex biological entities must take into account the behaviour of nanosized objects in different media as the nanoparticles may be affected by a number of biomolecules present therein, which can significantly influence their aggregation state and alter the dispersion quality, overall shape, bioavailability, and efficacy in the case of diagnostic or therapeutic applications.[5]. The adsorption is dependent on the local properties of nanoparticles in dispersion i.e. particle size, core material and surface chemistry which can affect the surface charge, curvature and the particle shape.[7,8,9] Besides surface chemistry, nanoparticle size and shape are key parameters affecting the biological response, i.e. the rate of cellular uptake, biodistribution, bioactivity, therapeutic efficacy and toxicity.[10,11] This highlights the importance of accurate determination of geometry, morphology and rheology of nanoparticles.[12]
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