Polymer-Stabilized Sialylated Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Optimization, and Differential Binding to Influenza Hemagglutinins

During influenza infection, hemagglutinins (HAs) on the viral surface bind to sialic acids on the host cell's surface. While all HAs bind sialic acids, human influenza targets terminal alpha 2,6 sialic acids and avian influenza targets alpha 2,3 sialic acids. For interspecies transmission (zoonosis), HA must mutate to adapt to these differences. Here, multivalent gold nanoparticles bearing either alpha 2,6- or alpha 2,3-sialyllactosamine have been developed to interrogate a panel of HAs from pathogenic human, low pathogenic avian, and other species' influenza. This method exploits the benefits of multivalent glycan presentation compared to monovalent presentation to increase affinity and investigate how multivalency affects selectivity. Using a library-orientated approach, parameters including polymer coating and core diameter were optimized for maximal binding and specificity were probed using galactosylated particles and a panel of biophysical techniques [ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and biolayer interferometry]. The optimized particles were then functionalized with sialyllactosamine and their binding analyzed against a panel of HAs derived from pathogenic influenza strains including low pathogenic avian strains. This showed significant specificity crossover, which is not observed in monovalent formats, with binding of avian HAs to human sialic acids and vice versa in agreement with alternate assay formats. These results demonstrate that precise multivalent presentation is essential to dissect the interactions of HAs and may aid the discovery of tools for disease and zoonosis transmission.