Issue 32, 2017

Polymer cloaking modulates the carbon nanotube protein corona and delivery into cancer cells

Abstract

Carbon nanotube-based molecular probes, imaging agents, and biosensors in cells and in vivo continue to garner interest as investigational tools and clinical devices due to their unique photophysical properties. Surface chemistry modulation of nanotubes plays a critical role in determining stability and interaction with biological systems both in vitro and in vivo. Among the many parameters that influence the biological fate of nanomaterials, surface charge is particularly influential due to direct electrostatic interactions with components of the cell membrane as well as proteins in the serum, which coat the nanoparticle surface in a protein corona and alter nanoparticle–cell interactions. Here, we modulated functional moieties on a helical polycarbodiimide polymer backbone that non-covalently suspended the nanotubes in aqueous media. By derivatizing the polymer with either primary amine or carboxylic acid side chains, we obtained nanotube complexes that present net surface charges of opposite polarity at physiological pH. Using these materials, we found that the uptake of carbon nanotubes in these cells is highly dependent on charge, with cationic nanotubes efficiently internalized into cells compared to the anionic nanotubes. Furthermore, we found that serum proteins drastically influenced cell uptake of the anionic nanotubes, while the effect was not prominent for the cationic nanotubes. Our findings have implications for improved engineering of drug delivery devices, molecular probes, and biosensors.

Graphical abstract: Polymer cloaking modulates the carbon nanotube protein corona and delivery into cancer cells

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
13 ማርች 2017
Accepted
12 ጁን 2017
First published
21 ጁን 2017

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2017,5, 6637-6644

Polymer cloaking modulates the carbon nanotube protein corona and delivery into cancer cells

J. Budhathoki-Uprety, J. D. Harvey, E. Isaac, R. M. Williams, T. V. Galassi, R. E. Langenbacher and D. A. Heller, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2017, 5, 6637 DOI: 10.1039/C7TB00695K

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements