In the exciting world of nanotechnology, tiny protein bubbles, or nanovesicles, are making waves. These tiny guys are different from traditional liposomes, which are often used in medicines. They are built from proteins and peptides and are less likely to trigger an immune response and show better results. But, how these protein bubbles interact with both lipids and cell membranes is still a big mystery.

        Researchers created a bunch of new nanovesicles using a protein called protamine. They added some extra bits, like trihydroxybenzene (GA) and catecholic acid (CA) groups. When salt was added to this mix, they saw something cool happen: the stuff clumped together in an alkaline environment. The size of these new bubbles varied from 200 to 1, 200 nanometers.

        To understand all this better the scientists measured the strength of how these nanovesicles bond to lipids and found something unexpected. The bonding strength of Protamine-CA-Fe

3+

 (25 μM) was stronger than Protamine-CA-Fe

3+

(10 μM) and Protamine-CA. This changed with the addition of trace amounts of Fe

3+

 which strengthened how the nanovesicles interacted with both lipids and cells. .

        What makes these bubbles even cooler is that they bind more efficiently to lipids when a small amount of iron is added, thanks to the unique interactions between catechol-amine groups and the iron. This iron-boosted interaction can be crucial for the delivery of medicines to specific cells. It leads to an  increased level of energy transfer in lipid membranes at a molecular level.

        Mapping the surface charges of these nanovesicles on living human gingival fibroblast cells showed how nanovesicles stick to the cell surface.

        These findings shed new light on how nanovesicles interact with cell membranes and opens up fresh opportunities to use these interactions to target specific cells more effectively with medicine or DNA treatments with fewer side effects.

Nanotechnology Shakes Up Drugs and DNA

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