An article published by CNPEM researchers was featured on the Nano Letters scientific journal’s cover and explores how the X-ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (XPCS) technique can distinguish protein corona formation from nanoparticle aggregation in complex biological media.
The innovative work, carried out at Sirius, expands analysis capacity in nanomedicine and highlights the XPCS potential to characterize nanoparticle interactions in biological environments in real time, providing a valuable resource for nanobiotechnology research and new biomedical materials development.
The innovative nanoparticles applications in biomedicine
Nanoparticles are tiny structures, with dimensions generally between 1 and 100 nanometers. Due to its size, they can interact with cells, proteins and molecules in a highly precise way, which allows driven delivery of medicines and therapeutic agents. This allows, for example, for cancer treatments to be more effective, by releasing drugs directly into tumor cells, minimizing side effects on healthy tissues.
Furthermore, nanoparticles can be designed for responding to specific stimuli, such as pH, temperature or biological signs, allowing a controlled release of medicines only when necessary.
In the diagnosis area, nanoparticles offer new ways to prematurely detect diseases. They can be linked to specific biomarkers that bind to molecular targets, making it easier to identify cancerous cells or the presence of viruses and bacteria, for example.
The interaction between nanoparticles and proteins in biological systems
These applications, however, are conditioned to a predictable behavior of these nanoparticles in complex biological systems. In some cases, by coming into contact with biological fluids, such as blood, a protein coating can be formed around nanoparticles, a phenomenon known in biomedicine by the English term “protein corona”.
This happens because nanoparticles attract proteins present in the biological environment, forming a “corona” or “crown” around its surface. The formation of this protein corona strongly influences how do nanoparticles interact with cells and tissues in the organism, which can affect its efficacy and safety in medical applications, such as drug therapies, diagnostics, and vaccine development.
For these reasons, studying the protein corona formation and characteristics is crucial for the development of nanoparticles that are safe and effective for biomedical use.
Read more on LNLS website
Image: Schematic representation of a functionalized SiO2 nanoparticle