Tuning the immune system by nanoparticle-biomolecular corona.

Nanotechnology has a great potential to revolutionize the landscape of medicine, but an inadequate understanding of the nanomaterial-biological (nano-bio) interface hampers its ultimate clinical translation. Surface attachment of biomolecules provides a new biological identity of nanoparticles that plays a crucial role as it can activate the immune system triggering inflammatory responses, clearance from the body, and cellular toxicity. In this review, we summarize and critically analyze progress in understanding the relationship between the biological identity of nanoparticles and immune system activation.

Optimal centrifugal isolating of liposome-protein complexes from human plasma.

In the past few years, characterization of the protein corona (PC) that forms around liposomal systems has gained increasing interest for the development of novel therapeutic and diagnostic technologies. At the crossroads of fast-moving research fields, the interdisciplinarity of protein corona investigations poses challenges for experimental design and reporting. Isolation of liposome-protein complexes from biological fluids has been identified as a fundamental step of the entire workflow of PC characterization but exact specifications for conditions to optimize pelleting remain elusive.

Effect of molecular crowding on the biological identity of liposomes: an overlooked factor at the bio-nano interface.

Once embedded in a physiological environment, the surface of nanoparticles (NPs) gets covered with a biomolecular corona (BC) that alters their synthetic characteristics and subsequently gives them a peculiar biological identity. Despite recent studies having clarified the role of NP composition, surface chemistry and biological source (, human/animal serum or plasma) in the formation of the BC, little is known about the possible impact of molecular crowding. To fill this gap, we used a cationic liposomal formulation as a model system and studied its biological identity upon incubation with human plasma, at a fixed liposome-to-plasma volume ratio and different concentrations.