How Nanoparticles Modify Adsorbed Proteins: Impact of Silica Nanoparticles on the Hemoglobin Active Site.

The adsorption of proteins on surfaces has been studied for a long time, but the relationship between the structural and functional properties of the adsorbed protein and the adsorption mechanism remains unclear. Using hemoglobin adsorbed on silica nanoparticles, we have previously shown that hemoglobin's affinity towards oxygen increases with adsorption. Nevertheless, it was also shown that there were no significant changes in the quaternary and secondary structures. In order to understand the change in activity, we decided in this work to focus on the active sites of hemoglobin, the heme and its iron. After measuring adsorption isotherms of porcine hemoglobin on Ludox silica nanoparticles, we analyzed the structural modifications of adsorbed hemoglobin by X-ray absorption spectroscopy and circular dichroism spectra in the Soret region. It was found that upon adsorption, there were modifications in the heme pocket environment due to changes in the angles of the heme vinyl functions. These alterations can explain the greater affinity observed.

Combining surface chemistry modification and in situ small-angle scattering characterization to understand and optimize the biological behavior of nanomedicines.

Nanomedicines are considered as promising therapeutics for cancer treatment. However, clinical translation is still scarce, partly because their biological behavior is not well understood. Extracting general guidelines from the great variety of nanoparticles and conditions studied is indeed difficult, and relevant techniques are lacking to obtain in situ information. Here, both issues are solved by combining versatile model nanoparticles with in situ tools based on small-angle scattering techniques (SAS). The strategy was to develop a library of nanoparticles and perform systematic study of their interactions with biological systems. Considering the promising properties of gold nanoparticles as cancer therapeutics, polymethacrylate-grafted gold nanoparticles were chosen as models. Modulation of polymer chemistry was shown to change the surface properties while keeping the same structure for all nanoparticles. This unity allowed reliable comparison to extract general principles, while the synthesis versatility enabled to fine-tune the nanoparticles surface properties, especially through copolymerization, and thus to optimize their biological behavior. Two specific aspects were particularly examined: colloidal stability and cell uptake. Positive charges and hydrophobicity were identified as key parameters influencing toxicity and internalization. In situ SAS gave valuable information about nanoparticles evolution in biologically relevant environments. Good colloidal stability was thereby shown in cell culture media, while intracellular transformation and quantity of nanoparticles were monitored, highlighting the potential of these techniques for nanomedicines studies.

Development of a new hybrid approach combining AFM and SEM for the nanoparticle dimensional metrology.

At this time, there is no instrument capable of measuring a nano-object along the three spatial dimensions with a controlled uncertainty. The combination of several instruments is thus necessary to metrologically characterize the dimensional properties of a nano-object. This paper proposes a new approach of hybrid metrology taking advantage of the complementary nature of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques for measuring the main characteristic parameters of nanoparticle (NP) dimensions in 3D. The NP area equivalent, the minimal and the maximal Feret diameters are determined by SEM and the NP height is measured by AFM. In this context, a kind of new NP repositioning system consisting of a lithographed silicon substrate has been specifically developed. This device makes it possible to combine AFM and SEM size measurements performed exactly on the same set of NPs. In order to establish the proof-of-concept of this approach and assess the performance of both instruments, measurements were carried out on several samples of spherical silica NP populations ranging from 5 to 110 nm. The spherical nature of silica NPs imposes naturally the equality between their height and their lateral diameters. However, discrepancies between AFM and SEM measurements have been observed, showing significant deviation from sphericity as a function of the nanoparticle size.

Mercury(II) Binding to Metallothionein in Mytilus edulis revealed by High Energy-Resolution XANES Spectroscopy.

Of all divalent metals, mercury (HgII ) has the highest affinity for metallothioneins. HgII is considered to be enclosed in the α and ß domains as tetrahedral α-type Hg4 Cys11-12 and ß-type Hg3 Cys9 clusters similar to CdII and ZnII . However, neither the four-fold coordination of Hg nor the existence of Hg-Hg atomic pairs have ever been demonstrated, and the HgII partitioning among the two protein domains is unknown. Using high energy-resolution XANES spectroscopy, MP2 geometry optimization, and biochemical analysis, evidence for the coexistence of two-coordinate Hg-thiolate complex and four-coordinate Hg-thiolate cluster with a metacinnabar-type (ß-HgS) structure in the α domain of separate metallothionein molecules from blue mussel under in vivo exposure is provided. The findings suggest that the CXXC claw setting of thiolate donors, which only exists in the α domain, acts as a nucleation center for the polynuclear complex and that the five CXC motifs from this domain serve as the cluster-forming motifs. Oligomerization is driven by metallophilic Hg⋅⋅⋅Hg interactions. Our results provide clues as to why Hg has higher affinity for the α than the ß domain. More generally, this work provides a foundation for understanding how metallothioneins mediate mercury detoxification in the cell under in vivo conditions.

Exploring Hybrid Imogolite Nanotube Formation via Si/Al Stoichiometry Control.

Hybrid imogolite aluminosilicate nanotubes with methylated internal surface can be obtained by introduction of the corresponding organosilane during their synthesis. However, similarly to pristine imogolite, a number of side products, including proto-imogolite (open-imoLS), allophanes, and aluminum hydroxides, are formed, which ultimately impact on the properties of the dispersions. In order to minimize the proportion of these side products, we have here systematically explored the impact of the initial Si/Al ratio on the content of hybrid imogolite dispersions before and after dialysis. By combining cryo-transmission electron microscopy, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy, and small-angle X-ray scattering, we evidenced that the Si/Al ratio has a large impact on the formation of aluminum hydroxides that can be minimized with a slight excess of Si precursor. However, a large excess of Si is detrimental to the reaction yield leading to an important proportion of proto-imogolite. We propose that the optimal Si/Al ratio of ca. 0.6 can both minimize the proportion of aluminum hydroxides and proto-imogolite. These results suggest that the dynamic and therefore reactive character of imogolite dispersions may have been so far underlooked.

Contribution to Accurate Spherical Gold Nanoparticle Size Determination by Single-Particle Inductively Coupled Mass Spectrometry: A Comparison with Small-Angle X-ray Scattering.

Small-angle X-ray scattering spectroscopy (SAXS) is the method of choice for nanoparticle diameter and concentration determination. On the one hand, it is metrologically traceable for spherical nanoparticle mean diameter determination and does not require any sample preparation or calibration. On the other hand, single-particle inductively coupled mass spectrometry (SPICPMS) is still under development and requires involved process clarification and accuracy improvement. The strategy of this study is the comparison of the two techniques to study comprehensively SPICPMS performance and observe phenomena otherwise hidden. Six spherical gold nanoparticle suspensions distributed over a large size range (30, 50, 60, 80,100, and 150 nm) are studied as calibration points. Potential matrix effects are eliminated by stabilizing nanoparticles with chitosan in HCl. Chitosan encapsulates nanoparticles, stabilizes their dispersion, and protects them from dissolution. Detection counting/analogue threshold and timeout appear as the relevant parameters for transient signals. They show an influence not only on mean signal but also on signal distribution. The detection tuning proposed allows to linearly calibrate the nanoparticle distribution signal to cubed diameter over the entire range studied with no sensitivity diminution. Comparing the three classical transport efficiency methods, size transport efficiency is shown as the most accurate. The new procedure is validated analyzing three gold nanoparticle suspensions (135, 40, and 50 nm). The results are consistent with SAXS measurements.