Stability and cytocompatibility of silk fibroin-capped gold nanoparticles

Surface engineering is crucial in the colloidal stability and biocompatibility of nanoparticles (NPs). Protein silk fibroin (SF), which gained interest in biomaterial and regenerative medicine, was used in this study to stabilize gold (Au) NPs. Characterization results from UV-Vis spectroscopy revealed that SF-capped Au NPs (SF-Au NPs) possessed remarkable colloidal stabilities in the pH range of 2 to 11 and salt concentration range of 50 mM to 1000 mM. In addition, dried particle samples were resuspended after lyophilization without aggregation. The results indicated that the steric hindrance rather than the electrostatic repulsion of SF-Au NPs was essential for colloidal stability. The SF-Au NPs manifested improved cytocompatibility compared with bare Au NPs, which was attributed to the inherent non-cytotoxicity of SF and the good colloidal stability of the NPs. The proposed method was simpler, more efficient, and more cost effective than the conventional modification strategies for Au NPs; thus, SF-Au NPs can be potentially used in biomedical applications.