Absorption (acoustics)

Corona (planetary geology)

Venus

Biology

Optics

Biophysics

Composite material

Protein adsorption

Astrobiology

Microscopy

Adsorption

Nanotechnology

Organic chemistry

Particle (ecology)

Nanoparticle

Chemistry

Ecology

Materials science

Physics

Small

The adsorption of serum proteins, leading to the formation of a biomolecular corona, is a key determinant of the biological identity of nanoparticles in vivo. Therefore, gaining knowledge on the formation, composition, and temporal evolution of the corona is of utmost importance for the development of nanoparticle‐based therapies. Here, it is shown that the use of super‐resolution optical microscopy enables the imaging of the protein corona on mesoporous silica nanoparticles with single protein sensitivity. Particle‐by‐particle quantification reveals a significant heterogeneity in protein absorption under native conditions. Moreover, the diversity of the corona evolves over time depending on the surface chemistry and degradability of the particles. This paper investigates the consequences of protein adsorption for specific cell targeting by antibody‐functionalized nanoparticles providing a detailed understanding of corona‐activity relations. The methodology is widely applicable to a variety of nanostructures ...

Super‐Resolution Microscopy Unveils Dynamic Heterogeneities in Nanoparticle Protein Corona