Martedì 6 Ottobre 2026 ore15:30
Aula Seminari, I piano, Edificio U5 - Scienza dei Materiali
Titolo: Influence of Nanoparticle Surface Chemistry on Protein Corona Formation and Drug Delivery Efficiency
Relatore: prof. Naoki Komatsu, Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
Abstract: We have been investigating various functional programming strategies for inorganic nanoparticles (INPs) toward their biomedical applications [1]. First, we explored the surface polymer coating of INPs to find that poly(glycerol) (PG), compared with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), provides much higher dispersibility under physiological conditions [2]. In addition, further functions have been programmed on PG surface such as active cancer targeting, fluorescence tumor imaging and cancer chemotherapy [1,3]. On the other hand, nanoparticles are known to be coated with proteins in the blood, and this protein corona can significantly affect their behavior in biological environments. Therefore, controlling the protein corona is essential for the successful development of INP-based drug delivery systems (DDSs) [4]. Under such circumstances, we compared PEG- and PG-coated INPs to find that protein corona formation was markedly suppressed on densely PG-coated INPs (INP-PG-h), thereby reducing uptake by macrophages [5]. Recently, these experimental findings were supported theoretically by computational studies in the collaboration with the group of Prof. Cristiana Di Valentin [6]. Based on this finding, we evaluated simple functional groups such as –COOH and -NH2, and active targeting moieties such as peptides in terms of the protein-corona formation, cellular uptake and stealth efficiency [7,8].
[1] N. Komatsu, Acc. Chem. Res., 56, 106 (2023)
[2] L. Zhao, N. Komatsu,* et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 50, 1388 (2011)
[3] L. Zhao, N. Komatsu,* X. Chen,* et al., Adv. Funct. Mater., 24, 5348 (2014)
[4] Y. Zou, N. Komatsu,* Y. Nishina,* A. Bianco* et al., Adv. Mater., 38, e23328 (2026)
[5] Y. Zou, N. Komatsu,* ACS Nano, 14, 7216 (2020)
[6] J. Yu, E. Donadoni, P. Siani, G. Frigerio, C. D. Valentin,* N. Komatsu,* submitted
[7] Y. Zou, M. Fujiwara, N. Komatsu,* et al., Adv. Funct. Mater., 32, 2111077 (2022)
[8] J. Yu, N. Komatsu,* et al., submitted