Study of the biomolecular corona of surface-modified polystyrene and silica nanoparticles: application to cancer

Nanotechnology offers promising tools for disease diagnosis through the unique biomolecular corona (BC) that surrounds nanoparticles (NPs) when exposed to biological fluids, creating personalized profiles. In this study, we investigated the capability of BC of polystyrene and silica NPs with diverse surface functionalization in distinguishing eight types of cancer (breast, ovarian, kidney, lung, colon, bladder, uterus, and thyroid) using a straightforward method based on one-dimensional gel electrophoresis. A total of six NPs, silica and polystyrene NPs with various functional groups (plain, NH₂, and COOH), were exposed to a total of 43 plasmas, 5 for each of the 8 investigated cancers plus 3 controls, to create personalized BCs. By analyzing the densitometric profiles of proteins' molecular weights, we demonstrated that the BC signatures of NPs can distinguish healthy individuals from those affected by cancer. We revealed that certain BCs could discriminate against specific types of cancer, i.e. ovarian and kidney cancer, and that amination could improve the diagnostic power of the platform. Being fast, cheap, and requiring only a blood sample, if validated on a more comprehensive cohort of patients, this method could serve as a first-line diagnostic tool, guiding decisions on further invasive testing and/or patient monitoring post-surgery or during treatment.