Serum proteins prevent aggregation of Fe₂O₃and ZnO nanoparticles

Abstract

Aggregation of metal oxide nanoparticles in aqueous media complicates interpretation of in vitro studies of nanoparticle–cell interactions. We used dynamic light scattering to investigate the aggregation dynamics of iron oxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles. Our results show that iron oxide particles aggregate more readily than zinc oxide particles. Pretreatment with serum stabilises iron oxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles against aggregation. Serum-treated iron oxide is stable only in pure water, while zinc oxide is stable in water or cell culture media. These findings, combined with zeta potential measurements and quantification of proteins adsorbed on particle surface, suggest that serum stabilisation of iron oxide particles occurs primarily through protein adsorption and resulting net surface charge. Zinc oxide stabilisation, however, also involves steric hindrance of particle aggregation. Fluid shear at levels used in flow experiments breaks up iron oxide particle aggregates. These results enhance our understanding of nanoparticle aggregation and its consequences for research on the biological effects of nanomaterials.

Investigation of removal possibilities of chromium(III) oxide from water solution in the presence of albumins

“…This phenomenon is equivalent to the drop in the TSI value (for example, for BSA at pH 3-25.9), the backscatter level increase (for BSA at pH 3 from 10 to 18 % in the last minutes of the measurement) and the decrease in transmission level (for BSA at pH 3 from 25 to 12 % in the last minutes of the measurement). A similar serum protein effect was observed during the study of inorganic compounds, i.e., TiO 2 (Allouni et al 2009;Meißner et al 2009;Vamanu et al 2008), Fe 2 O 3 and ZnO (Wells et al 2011), WC (Meißner et al 2009), and fullerene (Deguchi et al 2007). On the other hand, Flynn et al (2012) claimed that The result analysis showed that the isoelectric point (pH iep ) of chromium(III) oxide is approximately six.…”

“…There are few studies on this subject in the literature. Wells et al (2011) described the stability of iron(III) and zinc oxide nanoparticle suspensions in the serum protein presence, and Szekeres et al (2013) determined the modified magnetite suspension stability. However, their main purpose was to check the possibility of medical applications.…”

Protein corona: a new approach for nanomedicine design

“…[81][82][83] Conversely, in several studies, the adsorption of proteins onto NPs also improves NP stability and prevents formation of NP aggregates. 84,85 Therefore, the protein corona can adjust the average size of NPs and may change the cellular uptake pathway and biodistribution.…”

Evaluation of Recovery From Acute Lung Injury Induced by Intratracheal Instillation of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles

“…In the present study, the DLS results were broader in range than the TEM observations regarding primary particle size. This could be explained by the results of a previous study, which showed higher surface absorbed protein concentrations when zinc oxide was diluted in water rather than in PBS (Wells et al, 2012). The above findings illustrate that when surface-absorbed protein concentrations increase, ZnO-NPs preferentially form agglomerations.…”