Sweet Encounters:Studying nanoparticle-glycan interactions by metabolic labeling and click chemistry

Introduction: Cellular uptake remains key for the successful delivery of biotherapeutic-loaded nanoparticles (NPs). The glycocalyx is the first point of contact for incoming NPs (1). Current studies face limitations due to glycan complexity and lack of physiologic mimicry (2). Herein, we introduce a novel live, quantitative assay combining metabolic labeling and click chemistry with NanoLuc (an extremely sensitive bioluminescent enzyme formed of two complementary peptides, HiBit, and LgBit) so signals can be rapidly read using a plate reader to study NP-glycan interactions under physiologic conditions.

Miriam Colombo, PhD – Professor, University of Milano-Bicocca; Gianni Frascotti, PhD – Assistant Professor, University of Milano-Bicocca; Stefania Garbujo, PhD – Assistant Professor, University of Milano-Bicocca; Davide Prosperi, PhD – Professor, University of Milano-Bicocca; Timo Laaksonen, PhD – Professor, Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, University of Helsinki; Shiqi Wang, PhD – Academy Research Fellow, Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, University of Helsinki