The promise of graphene oxide (GO) in biomedical applications necessitates a closer examination of the interactions of GO with biological systems in order to better evaluate the impact of GO on human health. Recent studies have shown that once nanoparticles enter biological fluids, serum proteins readily coat the surface of the nanoparticles to result in the formation of protein coronas. In this study, the adsorption of human serum albumin (HSA) to GO was investigated through a combination of batch adsorption experiments and quartz crystal microbalance with energy dissipation measurements. The effects of ionic strength, divalent cations, and pH conditions on HSA adsorption to GO were systematically investigated. At neutral pH conditions, increasing ionic strength resulted in a rise in HSA adsorption to GO and a more compact HSA layer on GO. Calcium ions facilitated the adsorption of HSA to GO, likely due to the favorable binding of calcium with both HSA and GO. Both the amount of adsorption and the conformations of HSA on GO were influenced by the solution pH. Finally, we show that the adsorption of HSA lowered the propensity for GO to attach to supported lipid bilayers at pH 7. The degree of inhibition of GO attachment caused by HSA depended on ionic strength conditions which control the conformations of protein coronas on GO.

Probing interactions between graphene oxide and human serum albumin protein: Measurements, mechanisms, and implications for nanoparticle-cell membrane interactions

254th National Meeting (2017)

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