Gold nanoparticles have attracted attention in cancer research as theranostic platforms because their surface can be easily functionalized with biomolecules for drug delivery, gene therapy and specific accumulation at the tumor site. However, nanomaterials change their surface composition when exposed to biological fluids such as blood or serum, resulting in a protein corona which can hinder their function as therapeutic or diagnosis tools.  Tumor microenvironments contain high concentrations of proteases, and protease activity can impact the properties of the protein coronas around NPs. In cell culture experiments using PANC1 cells, we measure the time dependent degradation of protein coronas attributed to proteolytic activity of this aggressive pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cell line. In addition, we vary the protein corona composition to modulate the degradation rate.  Overall, the impact of the protease on protein coronas is complex and involves both exchange and degradation.

Degradation of protein coronas exposed to proteolytic environment of pancreatic tumor cells

2019 Spring National Meeting

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