Spectroscopic Investigation of Protein Coated Nanoparticles as Drug-Delivery Tools Using Femtosecond Laser Pulses

In recent years, the use of nanoparticles (NPs) conjugated with proteins has received much attention due to their exclusive optical properties that are size tunable. These properties, compared to the bulk equivalents, show unique absorption signatures in the visible region that are transparent to proteins. Besides stabilizing the NPs, the protein-coated NPs also reveal the biocompatible nature of the NP-protein complex, thereby allowing for further promising biological and chemical applications such as biosensing, imaging and drug delivery.The work proposed here will focus on using a variety of nanoparticles as drug delivery tools. Gold and silver nanoparticles will be used owing to their unique spectroscopic signatures and photothermal properties. The nanoparticles will be coated by albumin proteins to eliminate any toxicity. Using albumin proteins in this study is promising because of their efficient ability to bind many drug molecules and due to their biocompatibility. The chemistry of the albumin proteins will first be thoroughly investigated in physiological media using fluorescent probes (ligands). This is an important step in order to identify the albumins? binding sites and their physical binding properties. The latter will be investigated in depth after coating the nanoparticles in order to understand the effect of coating on ligand binding. A case study will then be undertaken in which an enzymatic inhibition will be investigated. In this study, the extent of drug-inhibiting effect will be quantified when the drug is bound to the albumin-coated nanoparticles. Control experiments will be carried out when the drug is free in solution and when it is bound to the albumin proteins in the absence of nanoparticles. Spectroscopic techniques will be utilized in this work which will include measuring the steady-state absorption and fluorescence spectra, and the dynamics in the femtosecond-nanosecond time frame. Theoretical modeling will be applied in order to explain the binding mechanism based on the protein-ligand structure. This work is anticipated to contribute to the current knowledge in drug delivery tools and may lead to new ways to enhance the delivery of drugs to the target cells in a more effective way. Using the spectroscopic techniques in this work is promising owing to the ability of these methods to detect nanomolar concentrations and without the need to label the proteins.

In recent years, the use of nanoparticles (NPs) conjugated with proteins has received much attention due to their exclusive optical properties that are size tunable. These properties, compared to the bulk equivalents, show unique absorption signatures in the visible region that are transparent to proteins. Besides stabilizing the NPs, the protein-coated NPs also reveal the biocompatible nature of the NP-protein complex, thereby allowing for further promising biological and chemical applications such as biosensing, imaging and drug delivery.The work proposed here will focus on using a variety of nanoparticles as drug delivery tools. Gold and silver nanoparticles will be used owing to their unique spectroscopic signatures and photothermal properties. The nanoparticles will be coated by albumin proteins to eliminate any toxicity. Using albumin proteins in this study is promising because of their efficient ability to bind many drug molecules and due to their biocompatibility. The chemistry of the albumin proteins will first be thoroughly investigated in physiological media using fluorescent probes (ligands). This is an important step in order to identify the albumins? binding sites and their physical binding properties. The latter will be investigated in depth after coating the nanoparticles in order to understand the effect of coating on ligand binding. A case study will then be undertaken in which an enzymatic inhibition will be investigated. In this study, the extent of drug-inhibiting effect will be quantified when the drug is bound to the albumin-coated nanoparticles. Control experiments will be carried out when the drug is free in solution and when it is bound to the albumin proteins in the absence of nanoparticles. Spectroscopic techniques will be utilized in this work which will include measuring the steady-state absorption and fluorescence spectra, and the dynamics in the femtosecond-nanosecond time frame. Theoretical modeling will be applied in order to explain the binding mechanism based on the protein-ligand structure. This work is anticipated to contribute to the current knowledge in drug delivery tools and may lead to new ways to enhance the delivery of drugs to the target cells in a more effective way. Using the spectroscopic techniques in this work is promising owing to the ability of these methods to detect nanomolar concentrations and without the need to label the proteins.