Effect of Gold Nanoparticle Aggregation on Cell Uptake and Toxicity

TLDR

Aggregation is a ubiquitous phenomenon among nanoparticles, yet its influence on cellular uptake and interactions remains unclear. The study aims to develop a simple method to produce transferrin‑coated gold nanoparticle aggregates of varying sizes and evaluate their uptake and toxicity in three cell lines. The authors fabricated transferrin‑coated gold nanoparticle aggregates of different sizes and characterized their cellular uptake and toxicity across three cell lines. Aggregated nanoparticles did not trigger a distinct toxic response, but uptake differed: a 25 % reduction in HeLa and A549 cells and a two‑fold increase in MDA‑MB 435 cells for the largest aggregates, underscoring cell‑type dependence and the role of aggregation in targeting and intracellular trafficking.

Abstract

Aggregation appears to be a ubiquitous phenomenon among all nanoparticles and its influence in mediating cellular uptake and interactions remain unclear. Here we developed a simple technique to produce transferrin-coated gold nanoparticle aggregates of different sizes and characterized their uptake and toxicity in three different cell lines. While the aggregation did not elicit a unique toxic response, the uptake patterns were different between single and aggregated nanoparticles. There was a 25% decrease in uptake of aggregated nanoparticles with HeLa and A549 cells in comparison to single and monodisperse nanoparticles. However, there was a 2-fold increase in MDA-MB 435 cell uptake for the largest synthesized aggregates. These contrasting results suggest that cell type and the mechanism of interactions may play a significant role. This study highlights the need to investigate the behavior of aggregates with cells on a case-by-case basis and the importance of aggregation in mediating targeting and intracellular trafficking.