Macromolecules, such as lipids and proteins, that absorb onto nanomaterial surfaces have been classified as biological coronas. These entities are speculated to steer the metabolism of nanomaterials due to their prominent position which primarily interacts with endogenous biological environments. Therefore, it is critical to understand specifically which biological components make up these coronas in order to prevent toxicological consequences as well as to develop bioconjugated nanomaterials useful for nanomedicine.  <br/><br/>In this study, several nanomaterials, of varying core compositions and physiochemical properties, were incubated with rabbit tears, as well as with three distinct food matrices, in order to identify the materialized protein or lipid coronas respectively. For the protein coronas, a limited proteolytic approach was used to obtain “snapshots” of the protein structures that shield the surfaces of the nanomaterials. For the lipid coronas, a liquid-liquid extraction method was utilized to separate the fatty acids from the surface. The biological material isolated from each corona was then identified and relatively quantified with nanoflow liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Preliminary results show that the protein corona compositions on the nanomaterials were vastly different from the tear control. Additionally, several proteins, such as lactotransferrin, were enriched on the nanomaterials’ surfaces. For the lipid coronas, the fatty acid class that commonly adsorbed were triglycerides (TAGs). Moreover, between the food models tested, the fatty food model had the largest total abundance of TAGs bound to the nanomaterial exterior. These results suggest that the biomolecular coronas that form in diverse types of biological fluids, or matrices, can be specific and can depend on the chemical characteristics of the nanomaterials.<br/>

Characterizing protein coronas with limited proteolysis and lipid coronas with liquid-liquid extractions coupled to liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

2019 Fall National Meeting

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