Letter abstract
Nature Nanotechnology 3, 145 - 150 (2008)
Published online: 2 March 2008 | doi:10.1038/nnano.2008.30
Subject Categories: Nanobiotechnology | Nanoparticles | Structural properties
Nanoparticle-mediated cellular response is size-dependent
Wen Jiang1,2, Betty Y. S. Kim1,2,3, James T. Rutka3 & Warren C. W. Chan1,2
Abstract
Nanostructures of different sizes, shapes and material properties have many applications in biomedical imaging, clinical diagnostics and therapeutics1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. In spite of what has been achieved so far, a complete understanding of how cells interact with nanostructures of well-defined sizes, at the molecular level, remains poorly understood. Here we show that gold and silver nanoparticles coated with antibodies can regulate the process of membrane receptor internalization. The binding and activation of membrane receptors and subsequent protein expression strongly depend on nanoparticle size. Although all nanoparticles within the 2–100 nm size range were found to alter signalling processes essential for basic cell functions (including cell death)7, 40- and 50-nm nanoparticles demonstrated the greatest effect. These results show that nanoparticles should no longer be viewed as simple carriers for biomedical applications, but can also play an active role in mediating biological effects. The findings presented here may assist in the design of nanoscale delivery and therapeutic systems and provide insights into nanotoxicity.
- Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, 164 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G9, Canada
- Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, 160 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E1, Canada
- Division of Neurosurgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X8, Canada
Correspondence to: Warren C. W. Chan1,2 warren.chan@utoronto.ca
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