Fig. 5

Identification of new molecular target proteins in the protein corona around gold nanoparticles from enriched low-abundance proteins (eLAPs). a Gel separation of proteins around GNPs. Denatured proteins/peptides in human plasma (HP) or eLAPs were separated by gel electrophoresis and visualized. The asterisk (*) indicates the relative enrichment of low-abundance peptides/proteins in plasma, compared to the original plasma. b Venn diagrams depicting proteins identified by proteomic analysis of both eLAPs and the protein coronas around GNPs incubated with either HP or eLAPs c, d Heatmap and table showing the enrichment of some important proteins in HP, eLAPs and eLAPs-PCs that were identified by nanoLC–MS/MS. e The log of the concentration ratio of eLAPs-PCs to eLAPs and eLAPs to HP. GSDMB, C4-B, PLTP c, DCD 2, IGF2 and CFHR3 denote Gasdermin B, Complement C4-B, Phospholipid transfer protein isoform c, Dermcidin (DCD), Insulin-like growth factor 2 and complement factor H-related protein 3, respectively. The red dotted line delineates a fold change over 2 (considered significant)