Background: The surface of a nanoparticle adsorbs molecules from its surroundings with a specific affinity determined by the chemical and physical properties of the nanomaterial. When a nanoparticle is exposed to a biological system, the adsorbed molecules form a dynamic and specific surface layer called a bio-corona. The present study aimed to identify the metabolites that form the bio-corona around anatase TiO2 nanoparticles incubated with leaves of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.
Results: We used an untargeted metabolomics approach and compared the metabolites isolated from wild-type plants with plants deficient in a class of polyphenolic compounds called flavonoids.
Conclusions: These analyses showed that TiO2 nanoparticle coronas are enriched for flavonoids and lipids and that these metabolite classes compete with each other for binding the nanoparticle surface.
Keywords: Arabidopsis; Flavonoids; Lipids; Titanium dioxide nanoparticles; Transparent testa (tt) mutants.