Open AccessNanoparticle Surface Engineering with Heparosan Polysaccharide Reduces Serum Protein Adsorption and Enhances Cellular Uptake
Author(s) -
Wen Yang,
Lin Wang,
Mulin Fang,
Vinit Sheth,
Yushan Zhang,
Alyssa Holden,
Nathan Donahue,
Dixy E. Green,
Alex N. Frickenstein,
Evan M. Mettenbrink,
Tyler A Schwemley,
Emmy R. Francek,
Majood Haddad,
Md. Nazir Hossen,
Shirsha Mukherjee,
Si Wu,
Paul L. DeAngelis,
Stefan Wilhelm
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
nano letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.853
H-Index - 488
eISSN - 1530-6992
pISSN - 1530-6984
DOI - 10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c00349
Subject(s) - nanomedicine , nanoparticle , ethylene glycol , nanobiotechnology , surface modification , peg ratio , protein adsorption , chemistry , nanotechnology , polymer , materials science , biophysics , organic chemistry , finance , economics , biology
Nanoparticle modification with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) is a widely used surface engineering strategy in nanomedicine. However, since the artificial PEG polymer may adversely impact nanomedicine safety and efficacy, alternative surface modifications are needed. Here, we explored the "self" polysaccharide heparosan (HEP) to prepare colloidally stable HEP-coated nanoparticles, including gold and silver nanoparticles and liposomes. We found that the HEP-coating reduced the nanoparticle protein corona formation as efficiently as PEG coatings upon serum incubation. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed the protein corona profiles. Heparosan-coated nanoparticles exhibited up to 230-fold higher uptake in certain innate immune cells, but not in other tested cell types, than PEGylated nanoparticles. No noticeable cytotoxicity was observed. Serum proteins did not mediate the high cell uptake of HEP-coated nanoparticles. Our work suggests that HEP polymers may be an effective surface modification technology for nanomedicines to safely and efficiently target certain innate immune cells.