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Surface functionalization of gold nanoparticles using hetero-bifunctional poly(ethylene glycol) spacer for intracellular tracking and delivery

2006; Dove Medical Press; Volume: 1; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2147/nano.2006.1.1.51

1178-2013

Dinesh B. Shenoy, Wei Fu, Jane Li, Curtis F. Crasto, Graham B. Jones, Charles A. DiMarzio, Srinivas Sridhar, Mansoor M. Amiji,

RNA Interference and Gene Delivery

For the development of surface-functionalized gold nanoparticles as cellular probes and delivery agents, we have synthesized hetero-bifunctional poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG, MW 1500) having a thiol group on one terminus and a reactive functional group on the other for use as a flexible spacer. Coumarin, a model fluorescent dye, was conjugated to one end of the PEG spacer and gold nanoparticles were modified with coumarin-PEG-thiol. Surface attachment of coumarin through the PEG spacer decreased the fluorescence quenching effect of gold nanoparticles. The results of cellular cytotoxicity and fluorescence confocal analyses showed that the PEG spacer-modified nanoparticles were essentially non-toxic and could be efficiently internalized in the cells within 1 hour of incubation. Intracellular particle tracking using a Keck 3-D Fusion Microscope System showed that the functionalized gold nanoparticles were rapidly internalized in the cells and localized in the peri-nuclear region. Using the PEG spacer, the gold nano-platform can be conjugated with a variety of biologically relevant ligands such as fluorescent dyes, antibodies, etc in order to target, probe, and induce a stimulus at the target site.