DYNAMICS AND BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ALBUMIN ADSORPTION ON NANOPARTICLES

Abstract

Nanoparticles (NPs) as a drug delivery carrier have been widely studied. However, when NPs are administered intravenously, hemolysis can occur. Studies have shown that charge is not a sufficient predictor. In this thesis, the effect of stability of the ligands on gold nanorods (AuNR) on hemolysis was demonstrated. Hemolysis can be prevented with albumin coating on NPs. Albumin as a corona can be beneficial due to its ability to transport drugs and accumulate in tumor sites. However, adsorption of albumin on NPs results in conformation change which alter its functions and albumin adsorbed on NPs can be exchanged in protein corona. Here, dynamics of the albumin corona formation on AuNRs was studied and its subsequent conformational change and protein exchange quantified to determine its implications on NP cell uptake. Collectively, this would help design NPs that are safe and able to reap the benefits of albumin for drug delivery.