Tuning the Microstructure of Protein Corona by Nanoparticle Hydrophobicity: A Dissipative Particle Dynamics Study

Although multiple experimental methods have been used to investigate protein corona, the microstructure of protein corona on nanoparticles is still unknown. By using dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulation, we found that hydrophobic nanoparticles adsorbed more proteins than hydrophilic ones. The distance between hydrophobic nanoparticles and proteins was closer than that between hydrophilic nanoparticles and proteins. Moreover, the distribution of different-sized proteins around nanoparticles was also systematically investigated. These findings provide detailed structural information of protein corona at microscopic level. We used dissipative particle dynamics simulation to investigate the impact of nanoparticle hydrophobicity on the microstructure of protein corona. The simulation results demonstrated that hydrophobic nanoparticles adsorbed more proteins than hydrophilic ones. The distance between hydrophobic nanoparticles and proteins was closer than that between hydrophilic nanoparticles and proteins. These findings provide detailed structural information of protein corona at microscopic level.