Publisher Correction: Immunoglobulin deposition on biomolecule corona determines complement opsonization efficiency of preclinical and clinical nanoparticles

Complexity of the Nano-Bio Interface and the Tortuous Path of Metal Oxides in Biological Systems

Metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) have received a great deal of attention as potential theranostic agents. Despite extensive work on a wide variety of metal oxide NPs, few chemically active metal oxide NPs have received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance. The clinical translation of metal oxide NP activity, which often looks so promising in preclinical studies, has not progressed as rapidly as one might expect. The lack of FDA approval for metal oxide NPs appears to be a consequence of the complex transformation of NP chemistry as any given NP passes through multiple extra- and intracellular environments and interacts with a variety of proteins and transport processes that may degrade or transform the chemical properties of the metal oxide NP. Moreover, the translational models frequently used to study these materials do not represent the final therapeutic environment well, and studies in reduced preparations have, all too frequently, predicted fundamentally different physico-chemical properties from the biological activity observed in intact organisms. Understanding the evolving pharmacology of metal oxide NPs as they interact with biological systems is critical to establish translational test systems that effectively predict future theranostic activity.

Nano-bio interface between human plasma and niosomes with different formulations indicates protein corona patterns for nanoparticle cell targeting and uptake

Unraveling the proteins interacting with nanoparticles (NPs) in biological fluids, such as blood, is pivotal to rationally design NPs for drug delivery. The protein corona (PrC), formed on the NP surface, represents an interface between biological components and NPs, dictating their pharmacokinetics and biodistribution. PrC composition depends on biological environments around NPs and on their intrinsic physicochemical properties. We generated different formulations of non-ionic surfactant/non-phospholipid vesicles, called niosomes (NIOs), using polysorbates which are biologically safe, cheap, non-toxic and scarcely immunogenic. PrC composition and relative protein abundance for all designed NIOs were evaluated ex vivo in human plasma (HP) by quantitative label-free proteomics. We studied the correlation of the relative protein abundance in the corona with cellular uptake of the PrC-NIOs in healthy and cancer human cell lines. Our results highlight the effects of polysorbates on nano-bio interactions to identify a protein pattern most properly aimed to drive the NIO targeting in vivo, and assess the best conditions of PrC-NIO NP uptake into the cells. This study dissected the biological identity in HP of polysorbate-NIOs, thus contributing to shorten their passage from preclinical to clinical studies and to lay the foundations for a personalized PrC.