Designed proteins assemble antibodies into modular nanocages.

Multivalent display of receptor-engaging antibodies or ligands can enhance their activity. Instead of achieving multivalency by attachment to preexisting scaffolds, here we unite form and function by the computational design of nanocages in which one structural component is an antibody or Fc-ligand fusion and the second is a designed antibody-binding homo-oligomer that drives nanocage assembly. Structures of eight nanocages determined by electron microscopy spanning dihedral, tetrahedral, octahedral, and icosahedral architectures with 2, 6, 12, and 30 antibodies per nanocage, respectively, closely match the corresponding computational models. Antibody nanocages targeting cell surface receptors enhance signaling compared with free antibodies or Fc-fusions in death receptor 5 (DR5)-mediated apoptosis, angiopoietin-1 receptor (Tie2)-mediated angiogenesis, CD40 activation, and T cell proliferation. Nanocage assembly also increases severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pseudovirus neutralization by α-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibodies and Fc-angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) fusion proteins.

DNA-Controlled Encapsulation of Small Molecules in Protein Nanoparticles.

A nanoparticle can hold multiple types of therapeutic and imaging agents for disease treatment and diagnosis. However, controlling the storage of molecules in nanoparticles is challenging, because nonspecific intermolecular interactions are used for encapsulation. Here, we used specific DNA interactions to store molecules in nanoparticles. We made nanoparticles containing DNA anchors to capture DNA-conjugated small molecules. By changing the sequences and stoichiometry of DNA anchors, we can control the amount and ratio of molecules with different chemical properties in the nanoparticles. We modified the cytotoxicity of our nanoparticles to cancer cells by changing the ratio of encapsulated drugs (mertansine and doxorubicin). Specifically controlling the storage of multiple types of molecules allows us to optimize the properties of combination drug and imaging nanoparticles.

An Analysis of the Binding Function and Structural Organization of the Protein Corona.

Blood proteins adsorb onto the surface of nanoparticles after intravenous injection to form a protein corona. The underlying organization and binding function of these adsorbed proteins remain unclear. This can impact how the corona mediates cell and tissue interactions. Here, we investigated the function and structural organization of the protein corona using an immunoassay approach. We discovered that only 27% of the adsorbed proteins examined are functional for binding to their target protein. This is because the corona architecture is not a monolayer, but an assembly of proteins that are bound to each other. We further demonstrated that we can control the binding functionality of a protein by changing the organization of proteins in the assembly. We show that manipulation of the corona protein composition and assembly can influence their interactions with macrophage cells in culture. This study provides detailed functional and structural insights into the protein corona on nanomaterials and offers a new strategy to manipulate it for controlled interactions with the biological system.

Nanoparticle-blood interactions: the implications on solid tumour targeting.

Nanoparticles are suitable platforms for cancer targeting and diagnostic applications. Typically, less than 10% of all systemically administered nanoparticles accumulate in the tumour. Here we explore the interactions of blood components with nanoparticles and describe how these interactions influence solid tumour targeting. In the blood, serum proteins adsorb onto nanoparticles to form a protein corona in a manner dependent on nanoparticle physicochemical properties. These serum proteins can block nanoparticle tumour targeting ligands from binding to tumour cell receptors. Additionally, serum proteins can also encourage nanoparticle uptake by macrophages, which decreases nanoparticle availability in the blood and limits tumour accumulation. The formation of this protein corona will also increase the nanoparticle hydrodynamic size or induce aggregation, which makes nanoparticles too large to enter into the tumour through pores of the leaky vessels, and prevents their deep penetration into tumours for cell targeting. Recent studies have focused on developing new chemical strategies to reduce or eliminate serum protein adsorption, and rescue the targeting potential of nanoparticles to tumour cells. An in-depth and complete understanding of nanoparticle-blood interactions is key to designing nanoparticles with optimal physicochemical properties with high tumour accumulation. The purpose of this review article is to describe how the protein corona alters the targeting of nanoparticles to solid tumours and explains current solutions to solve this problem.