Exploiting Receptors Competition to Enhance Nanoparticles Binding Selectivity

Abstract

Nanoparticles functionalized with multiple ligands can be programmed to bind biological targets depending on the receptors they express, providing a general mechanism exploited in various technologies, from selective drug-delivery to biosensing. For binding to be highly selective, ligands should exclusively interact with specific targeted receptors, because formation of bonds with other, untargeted ones would lead to non-specific binding and potentially harmful behaviour. This poses a particular problem for multivalent nanoparticles, because even very weak bonds can collectively lead to strong binding. A statistical mechanical model is used here to describe how competition between different receptors together with multivalent effects can be harnessed to design ligand-functionalized nanoparticles insensitive to the presence of untargeted receptors, are insensitive to these problems, preventing non-specific binding.

Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters on January 18th 2017

References in corpus (4)

• A general theory of DNA-mediated and other valence-limited interactions
• Theory and Simulation of DNA-Coated Colloids: a Guide for Rational Design
• A simple analytical formula for the free-energy of ligand-receptor mediated interactions
• Nonequilibrium adsorption of 2AnB patchy colloids on substrates

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Combinatorial entropy behaviour leads to range selective binding in ligand-receptor interactions
• Programmable interactions with biomimetic DNA linkers at fluid membranes and interfaces
• Steric interactions between mobile ligands facilitate complete wrapping in passive endocytosis
• Control of superselectivity by crowding in three-dimensional hosts
• Designing superselectivity in linker-mediated multivalent nanoparticle adsorption