| Abstract
| - Gold nanoparticles have been used for analytical and biomedical purposes for many years. In fact, the labeling oftargeting molecules with nanoparticles has revolutionized the visualization of cellular or tissue components by electronmicroscopy. We report in this study the derivatization of tiopronin-protected nanoparticles with ethylenediamine andpoly(ethylene glycol) bis(3-aminopropyl) terminated and their functionalization with the GRGDSP peptide sequenceby a straightforward and economical methodology. The particles were subsequently tested in vitro with a humanfibroblast cell line to determine the biocompatibility, and the cell−particle interactions, using fluorescence and scanningelectron microscopies. The results indicate that tiopronin gold nanoparticles aggregate due to culture medium proteins,whereas the tiopronin gold nanoparticles derivatized with ethylenediamine induce endocytosis, and the same nanoparticlesderivatized with poly(ethylene glycol) derivative promote particle−cell adhesion.
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