%0 Journal Article
%T Carbene-coated metal nanoparticles for in vivo applications.
%A Ivantcova PM
%A Kolychev EL
%A Sizikov AA
%A Mochalova EN
%A Cherkasov VR
%A Nikitin MP
%J Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces
%V 242
%N 0
%D 2024 Oct 15
%M 39067190
%F 5.999
%R 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2024.114097
%X N-Heterocyclic carbenes (NHC) are well-recognized ligands of choice for preparing robust transition metal species. However, their use for fabrication of biomedically relevant nanoparticles has been limited to the synthesis of non-targeted particles showing increased tolerance to different aqueous coagulants. In this work, the first example of carbene-coated metal nanoparticles suitable for in vivo applications is presented. Directed design of a novel biscarbene NHC ligand allowed to prepare the first magnetite/gold (Fe3O4@AuNP@NHC) nanostructures and carbene gold (AuNP@NHC) nanoparticles with significant stability in aqueous solutions and enhanced ability to form bioconjugates. Furthermore, these nanoparticles exhibit an extraordinary property for inorganic nanoparticles: they can endure several additive-free air drying/redispersion cycles without deterioration of their colloidal behavior. Bioconjugated AuNP@NHC and multimodal Fe3O4@AuNP@NHC demonstrated a successful performance in three distinct applications: lateral flow tests, specific cancer cell targeting, and bioimaging. Thus, the results show the notable advantages of the N-heterocyclic carbene coating of inorganic nanoparticles and their utility for complex biomedical applications.