Influences of protein-corona on stability and aggregation kinetics of TiCT nanosheets in aquatic environment.

Proteins existed in aquatic environments strongly influence the transport, fate of nanomaterials due to the formation of protein-corona surrounding nanomaterials. To date, how do proteins affect the aggregation behaviors of MXene, a new family of two-dimensional materials, in aquatic environment remains unknown. Here the aggregation kinetics of MXene TiCT nanosheets in various electrolytes (NaCl, CaCl and NaSO) was investigated by time-resolved dynamic light scattering in absence or presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA).

Investigation of interaction between MXene nanosheets and human plasma and protein corona composition.

The composition of protein corona affects the behavior and fate of nanoparticles in biological systems, which strongly relates to the intrinsic properties of nanoparticles and proteins. Here, three types of MXene TiCT nanosheets are prepared by different etching methods, and certain physicochemical characteristics of the nanosheets before and after exposure to human plasma (HP) are characterized. The TiCT nanosheets with protein coronas suffer more easily from aggregation than pristine TiCT.