Amino Compound-Synthesized Gold Nanoparticles for SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Delivery
Rego, Layane Souza (Universidade de São Paulo)
de Pinho Favaro, Marianna T. (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina "Vicent Villar Palasí")
Rodrigues-Jesus, Monica Josiane (University of Virginia)
Andreata-Santos, Robert (Universidade Federal de São Paulo)
Janini, Luiz Mário Ramos (Universidade de São Paulo)
Seckler, Marcelo Martins (Universidade de São Paulo)
Ferreira, Luis (Universidade de São Paulo)
Azzoni, Adriano Rodrigues (Universidade de São Paulo)

Data:	2025
Resum:	Background: Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are a promising platform for vaccine antigen delivery due to their ability to stimulate both innate and adaptive immune responses. These effects depend strongly on physicochemical properties such as size, polydispersity, morphology, and surface charge, which are in turn determined by the synthesis method. While amino acids are often used as capping agents for AuNPs, their direct use as both reducing and stabilizing agents has been rarely investigated. Objectives: This study aimed to establish an ultrasound-assisted method for synthesizing AuNPs using amino compounds as both reducing and stabilizing agents, and assess their physicochemical characteristics, antigen-binding capacity, and immunogenicity. Methods: AuNPs were synthesized using L-cysteine, L-arginine, and cysteamine as dual reducing/stabilizing agents under ultrasonic conditions. The nanoparticles were combined with a recombinant receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 and evaluated in mice for their ability to induce antibody responses. Results: The synthesized AuNPs exhibited hydrodynamic diameters ranging from 6. 3 to 12. 4 nm and zeta potentials from -40. 5 to +36. 5 mV, depending on the amino compound used. All formulations elicited robust anti-RBD IgG responses, but virus neutralization activity varied significantly. Notably, AuNP-arginine induced the strongest neutralizing response despite lower adsorption capacity and stability, suggesting that epitope preservation and antigen presentation quality were more decisive than antigen density. Conclusions: These findings underscore the importance of nanoparticle design in optimizing antigen presentation and highlight the potential of amino compound-synthesized AuNPs as effective antigen delivery vehicles for future vaccine development.
Drets:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Llengua:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Matèria:	Gold nanoparticles ; Amino compounds ; Nanomedicine ; Vaccines ; SARS-CoV-2
Publicat a:	Pharmaceutics, Vol. 17, Num. 9 (September 2025) , art. 1211, ISSN 1999-4923

DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics17091211
PMID: 41012546

15 p, 1.2 MB

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