A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
The impact of conjugation strategies and linker density on the performance of the Spermine-AcDex nanoparticle-splenocyte conjugate
Authors: Su, Yuchen; Cheng, Ruoyu; Du, Bowei; Soliman, Mai O.; Zhang, Hongbo; Wang, Shiqi
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
Publishing place: CAMBRIDGE
Publication year: 2025
Journal: RSC Chemical Biology
Journal name in source: RSC CHEMICAL BIOLOGY
Journal acronym: RSC CHEM BIOL
Number of pages: 9
eISSN: 2633-0679
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d5cb00104h
Web address : https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2025/cb/d5cb00104h
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/499790449
A common approach in living medicine engineering is modifying cell surfaces with nanomedicines to form nanoparticle-cell conjugates. Despite various available strategies, limited research has examined how conjugation strategies affect the efficiency and stability of the delivery systems. Herein, we prepared polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) with protein payloads and modified them with different linkers. These NPs were conjugated to primary splenocytes using either covalent or electrostatic interactions, followed by flow cytometry analysis to evaluate the conjugating efficiency and stability. The results demonstrated that electrostatic interactions were more effective in achieving conjugation, whereas covalent interactions provided greater stability. Furthermore, the linker density on the nanoparticle surface also affected the stability. After three days of in vitro culture, NPs with fewer linkers were predominantly internalized by the splenocytes, whereas those with more linkers partially remained on the cell surface. Overall, this study provides fundamental insights into nanoparticle-cell conjugation, thereby contributing to living medicine design and engineering for therapeutic applications.
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Funding information in the publication:
Y. S. acknowledges the China Scholarship Council for a grant. R. C. thanks the Research Fund from the Finnish Red Cross Blood Service (Punainen Risti Veripalvelu). S. W. acknowledges the Research Council of Finland (Academy Research Fellowship Grant no. 354421) and the European Union (ERC, BioLure, 101115752).
