Selective Targeting of Neurons with Inorganic Nanoparticles: Revealing the Crucial Role of Nanoparticle Surface Charge.

ABSTRACT: Nanoparticles (NPs) are increasingly used in biomedical applications, but the factors that influence their interactions with living cells need to be elucidated. Here, we reveal the role of NP surface charge in determining their neuronal interactions and electrical responses. We discovered that negatively charged NPs administered at low concentration (10 nM) interact with the neuronal membrane and at the synaptic cleft, whereas positively and neutrally charged NPs never localize on neurons. This effect is shape and material independent. The presence of negatively charged NPs on neuronal cell membranes influences the excitability of neurons by causing an increase in the amplitude and frequency of spontaneous postsynaptic currents at the single cell level and an increase of both the spiking a

SUBMITTER: Dante S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6090505 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature