Characterization, Stability, Cellular Uptake and Intracellular Trafficking of Peptide Gold Nanostructures in Mammalian Cells

Download or read book Characterization, Stability, Cellular Uptake and Intracellular Trafficking of Peptide Gold Nanostructures in Mammalian Cells written by Guankui Wang and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been widely investigated as potential nanocarriers for drug delivery. This potentially important role requires an understanding of cellular transport mechanisms that may be harnessed in facilitating highly efficacious nanocarrier-mediated drug delivery. In the present study, two different cysteineterminated peptides were conjugated with AuNPs (20 nm). Peptide A has a C-terminal Lys-Asp-Glu-Leu (KDEL) motif, named KDEL peptide, which is expected to interact with the KDEL receptor (KDELR) for retrograde trafficking, while peptide B is designed with a random sequence that has no known specific receptor or other cell membrane protein binding activity. Radio-ligand binding studies were conducted to characterize AuNP-peptide binding, suggesting both covalent and non-covalent interactions. The interactions of serum proteins with AuNP-peptide nanoconjugates were determined using gel electrophoresis and dynamic light scattering. Serum proteins rapidly bound the nanoconjugatcs (within 15 min). The cellular uptake of free peptides and nanoconjugates into mouse myogenie (So18) cells was investigated in the absence or presence of serum. In the absence of serum, peptides presented as nanoconjugates showed significantly higher intracellular fluorescence intensities compared to those in the presence of serum (P