In biological fluids, proteins bind to the surface of nanoparticles to form a coating known as the protein corona, which can critically affect the interaction of the nanoparticles with living systems. As physiological systems are highly dynamic, it is important to obtain a time-resolved knowledge of protein-corona formation, development and biological relevancy. Here we show that label-free snapshot proteomics can be used to obtain quantitative time-resolved profiles of human plasma coronas formed on silica and polystyrene nanoparticles of various size and surface functionalization. Complex time- and nanoparticle-specific coronas, which comprise almost 300 different proteins, were found to form rapidly (<0.5 minutes) and, over time, to change significantly in terms of the amount of bound protein, but not in composition. Rapid corona formation is found to affect haemolysis, thrombocyte activation, nanoparticle uptake and endothelial cell death at an early exposure time.

Blood neutrophils provide the first line of defense against pathogens but have also been implicated in thrombotic processes. This dual function of neutrophils could reflect an evolutionarily conserved association between blood coagulation and antimicrobial defense, although the molecular determinants and in vivo significance of this association remain unclear. Here we show that major microbicidal effectors of neutrophils, the serine proteases neutrophil elastase and cathepsin G, together with externalized nucleosomes, promote coagulation and intravascular thrombus growth in vivo. The serine proteases and extracellular nucleosomes enhance tissue factor- and factor XII-dependent coagulation in a process involving local proteolysis of the coagulation suppressor tissue factor pathway inhibitor. During systemic infection, activation of coagulation fosters compartmentalization of bacteria in liver microvessels and reduces bacterial invasion into tissue. In the absence of a pathogen challenge, neutrophil-derived serine proteases and nucleosomes can contribute to large-vessel thrombosis, the main trigger of myocardial infarction and stroke. The ability of coagulation to suppress pathogen dissemination indicates that microvessel thrombosis represents a physiological tool of host defense.

Strong resonant light scattering by individual spherical Si nanoparticles is experimentally demonstrated, revealing pronounced resonances associated with the excitation of magnetic and electric modes in these nanoparticles. It is shown that the low-frequency resonance corresponds to the magnetic dipole excitation. Due to high permittivity, the magnetic dipole resonance is observed in the visible spectral range for Si nanoparticles with diameters of ∼200 nm, thereby opening a way to the realization of isotropic optical metamaterials with strong magnetic responses in the visible region.

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Silicon nanoparticles with sizes of a few hundred nanometres exhibit unique optical properties due to their strong electric and magnetic dipole responses in the visible range. Here we demonstrate a novel laser printing technique for the controlled fabrication and precise deposition of silicon nanoparticles. Using femtosecond laser pulses it is possible to vary the size of Si nanoparticles and their crystallographic phase. Si nanoparticles produced by femtosecond laser printing are initially in an amorphous phase (a-Si). They can be converted into the crystalline phase (c-Si) by irradiating them with a second femtosecond laser pulse. The resonance-scattering spectrum of c-Si nanoparticles, compared with that of a-Si nanoparticles, is blue shifted and its peak intensity is about three times higher. Resonant optical responses of dielectric nanoparticles are characterized by accumulation of electromagnetic energy in the excited modes, which can be used for the realization of nanoantennas, nanolasers and metamaterials.