Shall We Tune? From Core-Shell to Cloud Type Nanostructuresin Heparin/Silica Hybrids

Heparin plays multiple biological roles depending on the availability of active sites stronglyinfluenced by the conformation and the structure of polysaccharide chains. Combining differentcomponents at the molecular scale offers an extraordinary chance to easily tune the structuralorganization of heparin required for exploring new potential applications. In fact, the combination ofdifferent material types leads to challenges that cannot be achieved by each single component. In thisstudy, hybrid heparin/silica nanoparticles were synthesized, and the role of silica as a templatingagent for heparin supramolecular organization was investigated. The effect of synthesis parameterson particles compositions was deeply investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy(FTIR) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) reveals adifferent supramolecular organization of both components, leading to amazing organic-inorganicnanoparticles with different behavior in drug encapsulation and release. Furthermore, favorablebiocompatibility for healthy human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) and tumor HS578T cells has beenassessed, and a different biological behavior was observed, ascribed to different surface charge andmorphology of synthesized nanoparticles.