Fig. 9
From: Dye-doped silica nanoparticles: synthesis, surface chemistry and bioapplications
(adapted Monopoli et al. (2012))
The protein corona, and its manipulation, poses many new challenges and opportunities in bionanotechnology. a The strong adsorption of biomolecules to a NP surface in complex media (known as the ‘protein corona’ can alter the biological identity of NPs and has recently been described what a cell ‘sees’ upon encountering the particle-corona complex. b A number of association/dissociation reactions occur at the NP-cell interface. Some biomolecules bind tightly to form a ‘hard’ corona and others loosely surround the NP (a ‘soft’ corona)