The Choice of Nanoparticle Surface-Coupled Fluorescent Dyes Impacts Cellular Interaction

Fluorescently-labelled nanoparticles show great promise for nanoparticle tracking and detection in biological or medical applications. However, these fluorescent molecules functionalized on the surface of the nanoparticles can impact the interaction of nanoparticles with biomolecules, cells, and subsequently influence their uptake. To explore the extent of these interactions, PEGylated gold nanoparticles were functionalized with six structurally different fluorescent dyes to demonstrate that the presence of the dye alters nanoparticle behavior, in particular interactions with bovine serum albumin, which consequently influenced their cellular uptake.