Gold nanorods (NRs) have been attractive for many applications in therapy, delivery, photothermal therapy. We studied the protein coronas that form around gold NRs coated with amphiphilic ligands (ALs). NRs coated with ALs can form large coronas of serum proteins, resulting in aggregates 100s of nm in diameter that contain multiple NRs. These coronas can greatly enhance the carrier properties of NRs because the corona has a much higher capacity for drug payloads such as DNA and small molecules than the NR itself. Furthermore, NR-coronas can be used for triggered delivery by exploiting the optical properties of the gold NR. We describe results in which we utilize the coronas around NRs for triggered release applications and show how we use it to switch on and off blood clotting with light. Laser excitation at the SPR can heat the NR, causing it to melt and disrupt its corona. We loaded two different NRs with thrombin binding aptamers and complementary DNA, and were able to halt and restore the blood clotting cascade by selective excitation of the NRs. In addition, we examined the effect the NR-AL coronas on cellular response. We studied the effect of changing the amphiphilic ligand on the properties of the corona that forms, and how that impacts the cytotoxicity and gene expression. Results also suggest that corona can influence small molecule behavior in cell culture. The cell media supplements penicillin/streptomycin had an effect on cell response in the presence of NR-coronas.<br/>

Formation of protein coronas on gold nanorods stabilized by amphiphilic ligands

249th National Meeting (2015)

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