Limited Impact of the Protein Corona on the Cellular Uptake of PEGylated Zein Micelles by Melanoma Cancer Cells

Jitkasem Meewan; Sukrut Somani; Partha Laskar; Craig Irving; Margaret Mullin; Stuart Woods; Craig W. Roberts; Abdullah R. Alzahrani; Valerie A. Ferro; Suzanne McGill; Stefan Weidt; Richard Burchmore; Christine Dufès

doi:10.3390/pharmaceutics14020439

Pharmaceutics (Feb 2022)

Limited Impact of the Protein Corona on the Cellular Uptake of PEGylated Zein Micelles by Melanoma Cancer Cells

Jitkasem Meewan,
Sukrut Somani,
Partha Laskar,
Craig Irving,
Margaret Mullin,
Stuart Woods,
Craig W. Roberts,
Abdullah R. Alzahrani,
Valerie A. Ferro,
Suzanne McGill,
Stefan Weidt,
Richard Burchmore,
Christine Dufès

Affiliations

Jitkasem Meewan: Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, 161 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G4 0RE, UK
Sukrut Somani: Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, 161 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G4 0RE, UK
Partha Laskar: Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, 161 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G4 0RE, UK
Craig Irving: Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, 295 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G1 1XL, UK
Margaret Mullin: Glasgow Imaging Facility, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
Stuart Woods: Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, 161 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G4 0RE, UK
Craig W. Roberts: Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, 161 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G4 0RE, UK
Abdullah R. Alzahrani: Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, 161 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G4 0RE, UK
Valerie A. Ferro: Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, 161 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G4 0RE, UK
Suzanne McGill: Glasgow Polyomics, Wolfson Wohl Cancer Research Centre, Garscube Campus, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
Stefan Weidt: Glasgow Polyomics, Wolfson Wohl Cancer Research Centre, Garscube Campus, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
Richard Burchmore: Glasgow Polyomics, Wolfson Wohl Cancer Research Centre, Garscube Campus, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
Christine Dufès: Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, 161 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G4 0RE, UK

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics14020439
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 14, no. 2
p. 439

Abstract

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The formation of a protein layer “corona” on the nanoparticle surface upon entry into a biological environment was shown to strongly influence the interactions with cells, especially affecting the uptake of nanomedicines. In this work, we present the impact of the protein corona on the uptake of PEGylated zein micelles by cancer cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells. Zein was successfully conjugated with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) of varying chain lengths (5K and 10K) and assembled into micelles. Our results demonstrate that PEGylation conferred stealth effects to the zein micelles. The presence of human plasma did not impact the uptake levels of the micelles by melanoma cancer cells, regardless of the PEG chain length used. In contrast, it decreased the uptake by macrophages and dendritic cells. These results therefore make PEGylated zein micelles promising as potential drug delivery systems for cancer therapy.

Published in Pharmaceutics

ISSN: 1999-4923 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Medicine: Pharmacy and materia medica
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/pharmaceutics/

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