Does the nanoparticle morphology influence interaction with protein: a case study with hydroxyapatite nanoparticles

Abstract For in vivo applications, nanoparticles (NPs) are exposed to a range of biomolecules (majorly proteins) which forms a corona around the NPs (usually termed as protein corona (PC)), that significantly changes the surface properties of the NPs. This interaction between the NP and the protein may induce conformational changes in the latter contributing to various biological effects. Although NPs are being used for diagnosis and treatments, a complete understanding of the influence of various NP parameters on the function of the biomolecules is important. This study reports the synthesis of biocompatible hydroxyapatite (HAp) NPs of various morphology. These HAp NPs were surface functionalized with cetyl pyridinium chloride (CPC), having Cl- as counter-ion, and their interaction with Pepsin A was studied to understand the role of the NP morphology on the NP- Protein complexes.