An index for characterization of nanomaterials in biological systems

In a physiological environment, nanoparticles selectively absorb proteins to form 'nanoparticle-protein coronas'(1-5), a process governed by molecular interactions between chemical groups on the nanoparticle surfaces and the amino-acid residues of the proteins(6-8). Here, we propose a biological surface adsorption index to characterize these interactions by quantifying the competitive adsorption of a set of small molecule probes onto the nanoparticles. The adsorption properties of nanomaterials are assumed to be governed by Coulomb forces, London dispersion, hydrogen-bond acidity and basicity, polarizability and lone-pair electrons. Adsorption coefficients of the probe compounds were measured and used to create a set of nanodescriptors representing the contributions and relative strengths of each molecular interaction. The method successfully predicted the adsorption of various small molecules onto carbon nanotubes, and the nanodescriptors were also measured for 12 other nanomaterials. The biological surface adsorption index nanodescriptors can be used to develop pharmacokinetic and safety assessment models for nanomaterials.