Lecture: Nanoscale Interface between Engineered Matter, and Living Organisms

By Kenneth Dawson

Abstract

Nanoscale materials can interact with living organisms in a qualitatively different manner than small molecules. Crucially, biological phenomena such as immune clearance, cellular uptake and biological barrier crossing are all determined by processes on the nanometer scale. Harnessing these endogeneous biological processes  (for example in creation of new nanomedicines or nanodiagnostics) will therefore require us to work on the nanoscale. This ensures that nanoscience, biology and medicine will be intimately connected for generations to come, and may well provide the best hope of tacking currently intractable diseases.

Whilst nanoparticle size is important, the detailed nature of the nanoparticle interface is key to understanding interactions with living organisms. This interface may be quite complex, involving also adsorbed protein from the biological fluid (blood, or other), leading to a sort of ‘protein corona’ around the nanomaterial surface. We discuss how this corona is formed, and how it may be a determining feature in biological interactions. 

We also discuss new concepts and new understanding of how nanoscale objects interact with the internal machinery of the cell, relating it to the system-level responses.

We give examples of these interactions relevant to several systems, including the blood brain barrier (NeuroNano FP7) where some significant outcomes seem affected by the role of the protein layer.

Representative publications

  • Cedervall T, Lynch I, Lindman S, Berggård T, Thulin E, Nilsson, H, Linse S, Dawson KA. Understanding the nanoparticle protein corona using methods to quantify exchange rates and affinities of proteins for nanoparticles, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 104, 2050-2055 (2007)
  • Linse S., Cabaleiro-Lago, C., Xue W.F., Lynch I., Lindman S., Thulin E., Radford S.E., Dawson, K.A., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 104 (21); 8691-8696 (2007)
  • Lundqvist M, Stigler J, Cedervall T, Elia G, Lynch I, and Dawson KA. Nanoparticle Size and Surface Properties determine the Protein Corona with possible implications for Biological Impacts. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 105, 14265-14270 (2008)
  • Walczyk D, Baldelli Bombelli F, Monopoli PM, Lynch I and Dawson KA. What the Cell “Sees” in Bionanoscience, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 132 (16), 5761–5768 (2010)
  • Marco P. Monopoli, Dorota Walczyk, Abigail Campbell, Giuliano Elia, Iseult Lynch, Francesca Baldelli Bombelli, and Kenneth A. Dawson, Physical−Chemical Aspects of Protein Corona: Relevance to in Vitro and in Vivo Biological Impacts of Nanoparticles, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2011, 133 (8), pp 2525–2534
  • Jong Ah Kim, Christoffer Åberg,  Anna Salvati & Kenneth A. Dawson, Role of cell cycle on the cellular uptake and dilution of nanoparticles in a cell population Nature Nanotechnology (2011) doi:10.1038/nnano.2011.191, Published online, 06 November 2011; highlight, Nature Nanotechnology(2011)doi:10.1038/nnano.2011.207 Published online 06 November 2011

Biographical sketch

Kenneth Dawson is Director of the Centre for BioNano Interactions (CBNI). The scientific focus of this Centre is to understand interaction of nanoparticles with living systems (www.cbni.eu). The Centre seeks to clarify the controlling factors for those interactions, to support applications in nanotheraputics, nanosafety, and future applications in systems and synthetic biology.

Professor Dawson is Chair of Physical Chemistry, and Director of CBNI. In his personal research, he has received several international prizes, including the 2007 Cozzarelli prize from the National Academy of Sciences USA, as well as IBM, Packard, Canon, Sloan and Dreyfus prizes. He is Chairman of the National BioNanoscience Action, and co-ordinator of the European Infrastructure in the arena. He has experience in the management of large scale EU projects, including multi-sectoral cross-disciplinary research projects, and other international programs. Prof. Dawson’s professional roles include representing Ireland on the OECD and ISO working groups on standards for Nanotechnology. He Chairs the launch of the International Alliance on NanoEHS Harmonisation (http://nanoehsalliance.org/), a new global partnership of scientists from EU, US, and Japan.  He is currently Editor of Current Opinion in Colloid Science, Senior Editor of Physica, Associate Editor of Journal of Nanoparticle Research, Nanomedicine Journal, and former President of the European Colloid and Interface Society. He also advises on nanoscience matters in the EU New Risk Committee of the European Commission, and the Advisory group of the European Medicines Agency.