Abstract
The van der Waals (vdW) interaction between nanoparticles (NPs) in general, and especially between metal NPs, may be appreciable, and may result in nanoparticle aggregation. In biofluids, NPs become rapidly surrounded by a protein corona (PC). Here, the vdW and hydration interaction of NPs with and without PC are compared in detail. The focus is on two widely used types of NPs fabricated of SiO2 and Au and possessing weak and strong vdW interactions, respectively. For SiO2, the presence of PC increases the vdW interaction, but it remains relatively weak and insufficient for aggregation. For Au, the presence of PC decreases the vdW interaction, and in the case of small NPs (≤ 40 nm in diameter) it may become insufficient for aggregation as well while the larger NPs can aggregate.
Highlights
NPs have the potential for various biological and medical applications, including targeted drug delivery, hyperthermia therapy, and contrast imaging, and simultaneously may induce deterioration of some of the organism functions
For Au, the presence of protein corona (PC) decreases the van der Waals (vdW) interaction, and in the case of small NPs (≤ 40 nm in diameter) it may become insufficient for aggregation as well while the larger NPs can aggregate
For NPs surrounded by PC of thickness h1 and h2 (Fig. 1b), the vdW interaction can be represented as a sum of four terms corresponding to the core-core, core-shell, core-shell, and shell-shell parts, UvdW = VNP1-NP2 + VNP1-PC2 + VNP2-PC1 + VPC1-PC2, (5)
Summary
NPs have the potential for various biological and medical applications, including targeted drug delivery, hyperthermia therapy, and contrast imaging, and simultaneously may induce deterioration of some of the organism functions. The interaction of bare or PC-possessing NPs can be described by dividing the system into the vdW, hydration, and double-layer electrostatic parts, UvdW, Uh, and Udl. The latter two forces operate on the length scale of 1 nm, while the range of the former forces depends on the NP size and is appreciably larger. For NPs surrounded by PC of thickness h1 and h2 (Fig. 1b), the vdW interaction can be represented as a sum of four terms corresponding to the core-core, core-shell, core-shell, and shell-shell parts, UvdW = VNP1-NP2 + VNP1-PC2 + VNP2-PC1 + VPC1-PC2, (5)
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