Gold Nanoparticles: Inhibiting EGFR Clustering and Cell Proliferation with Gold Nanoparticles (Small 14/2015)

Gold nanorods have been employed as biolabels and in cancer cell therapy under laser illumination. On page 1638, C. Paviolo, J. W. M. Chon, and A. H. A. Clayton show that they can also perturb receptor and cell functions through mechanically blocking the receptor clustering. Gold nanoparticles are functionalized with epidermal growth factor (EGF) molecules and incubated with HeLa cells. These complexes mechanically interfere with the activation of EGF receptors in a length-dependent manner. Protein-functionalized gold nanoparticles hold great potential for unveiling the fundamental characteristics of cell receptors and for future pharmacological studies of receptor targeting.