Issue 9, 2015

Impacts of gold nanoparticle charge and ligand type on surface binding and toxicity to Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria

Abstract

Although nanomaterials facilitate significant technological advancement in our society, their potential impacts on the environment are yet to be fully understood. In this study, two environmentally relevant bacteria, Shewanella oneidensis and Bacillus subtilis, have been used as model organisms to elucidate the molecular interactions between these bacterial classes and Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) with well-controlled and well-characterized surface chemistries: anionic 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA), cationic 3-mercaptopropylamine (MPNH2), and the cationic polyelectrolyte poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH). The data demonstrate that cationic, especially polyelectrolyte-wrapped AuNPs, were more toxic to both the Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. The levels of toxicity observed were closely related to the percentage of cells with AuNPs associated with the cell surface as measured in situ using flow cytometry. The NP concentration-dependent binding profiles were drastically different for the two bacteria strains, suggesting the critical role of bacterial cell surface chemistry in determining nanoparticle association, and thereby, biological impact.

Graphical abstract: Impacts of gold nanoparticle charge and ligand type on surface binding and toxicity to Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
05 Mar 2015
Accepted
15 Jun 2015
First published
16 Jun 2015
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2015,6, 5186-5196

Author version available

Impacts of gold nanoparticle charge and ligand type on surface binding and toxicity to Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria

Z. V. Feng, I. L. Gunsolus, T. A. Qiu, K. R. Hurley, L. H. Nyberg, H. Frew, K. P. Johnson, A. M. Vartanian, L. M. Jacob, S. E. Lohse, M. D. Torelli, R. J. Hamers, C. J. Murphy and C. L. Haynes, Chem. Sci., 2015, 6, 5186 DOI: 10.1039/C5SC00792E

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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