Enhancing the stability of silver nanoparticles in biomimetic environments through biomembrane hybridization

Abstract

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have unique properties that make them valuable for biomedical applications. However, their instability in vivo has limited their use. Hybridizing AgNPs with organic materials is an effective way to address this issue. Biomembranes, as natural organic materials, offer stability in vivo and have various functions that are beneficial for biomedical applications. Despite these advantages, biomembrane hybridization remains challenging, making it one of the factors that hinder the biomedical application of biomembrane hybrid nanoparticles. In addition, the hybridization of biomembranes with AgNPs remains an underexplored area of research. In this study, we apply our previously reported floating cell layer penetration method to AgNPs, enabling the preparation of biomembrane hybrid AgNPs (Hybrid) without membrane isolation or complex processing. Characterization of the resulting Hybrid revealed changes in particle size, zeta potential, UV–vis spectra, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images. In addition, quantification of phospholipids confirmed that AgNPs were hybridized with sufficient phospholipids for coating, and lipidomics analysis showed that those phospholipids were reported in donor cells. These results indicate successful hybridization of AgNPs with biomembrane derived from source cells. In addition, biomembrane hybridization was suggested to improve the colloidal stability of AgNPs in in vivo-mimetic environments containing various ions or biomolecules. In summary, we constructed biomembrane hybrid AgNPs using a simple and reproducible approach, highlighting their potential for biomedical applications.