Albumin Retains Its Transport Function after Interaction with Cerium Dioxide Nanoparticles.

The interaction of inorganic nanomaterials with biological fluids containing proteins can lead not only to the formation of a protein corona and thereby to a change in the biological activity of nanoparticles but also to a significant effect on the structural and functional properties of the biomolecules themselves. This work studied the interaction of nanoscale CeO 2 , the most versatile nanozyme, with human serum albumin (HSA). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, UV-vis spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy confirmed the formation of HSA-CeO 2 nanoparticle conjugates. Changes in protein conformation, which depend on the concentration of both citrate-stabilized CeO 2 nanoparticles and pristine CeO 2 nanoparticles, did not affect albumin drug-binding sites and, accordingly, did not impair the HSA transport function. The results obtained shed light on the biological consequences of the CeO 2 nanoparticles' entrance into the body, which should be taken into account when engineering nanobiomaterials to increase their efficiency and reduce the side effects.