Exploring the protein corona-mediated near-wall confined motion of micro-carriers via total internal reflection microscopy

Abstract

Protein corona can significantly alter the interfacial physico-chemical characteristics and hydrodynamics of microentities in crowded bio-fluids. However, how this soft boundary affects the confined motion and intersurface interaction remains unknown. In this study, we used total internal reflection microscopy to directly measure the mechanical coupling underlying the confinement. By tuning ionic strength, pH, and surface chemistry, we observed that the confined motion transitioned from Fickian diffusion to a sublinear behavior, where the displacements normal to the wall consistently exhibit a non-Gaussian distribution. This abnormal phenomenon, especially for stuck particles, results in a mechanical-reversal asymmetry, as evidenced by the intersurface potential energy profiles. The multiscale-dependent mechanism for soft boundaries under deformation can be correlated with the hydration layer and inherent Hookean elasticity of protein corona. These observations hold across a wide variety of near-wall confinement spanning from superhydrophilic to hydrophobic substrates, and further to bio-interfaces.

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
15 Jul 2025
Accepted
17 Aug 2025
First published
18 Aug 2025
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript

Exploring the protein corona-mediated near-wall confined motion of micro-carriers via total internal reflection microscopy

W. Liu, Z. Zhao, J. Zhong, P. W. F. Yeung, J. Wu, Y. LI, H. Jiang, Y. Zhu and T. Ngai, Chem. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript , DOI: 10.1039/D5SC05236J

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