SGER: Cytotoxicity of Nanoparticles

南卡罗来纳大学的Catherine J. Murphy和Michael Wyatt得到了无机、生物无机和有机金属化学项目的支持，对纳米颗粒的细胞毒性进行了探索性研究。尺寸从4到200纳米的金纳米粒子将被氨基酸、小肽和其他生物活性基团功能化。功能化纳米颗粒将通过电子吸收光谱、表面增强拉曼光谱和透射电子显微镜进行表征，然后进行细胞毒性测试。进一步的药理学表征将包括确定细胞死亡机制和亚细胞定位研究。这项探索性研究小额赠款（SGER）支持纳米生物技术的高风险/高影响研究。化学家和药理学家将对纳米颗粒与细胞的相互作用进行初步研究。由于纳米颗粒被认为是细胞成像和药物递送剂，了解这些纳米颗粒固有的生物活性是很重要的。纳米颗粒可以模仿同样显示细胞毒性反应的蛋白质聚集体的大小、形状和表面功能。

Catherine J. Murphy and Michael Wyatt, University of South Carolina, are supported by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry Program for exploratory research into the cytotoxicity of nanoparticles. Gold nanoparticles with sizes ranging from four to 200 nm will be functionalized with amino acids, small peptides and other bioactive groups. The functionalized nanoparticles will be characterized by electronic absorption spectroscopy, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy and then tested for cytotoxicity. Further pharmacological characterization will include determining the mechanism of cell death and subcellular localization studies.This Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER) supports high risk/high impact research in nanobiotechnology. Chemists and pharmacologists will conduct preliminary studies on the interactions of nanoparticles with cells. Because nanoparticles are being considered as cellular imaging and drug-delivery agents, it is important to understand the inherent bio-activity of these nanoparticles. The nanoparticle may mimic the size, shape and surface functionality of protein aggregates that have also shown cytotoxic responses.