Proteinized Surface Remodeling Decouples Environmental Stability from Intracellular Degradation in Oxidation-Prone 2D Nanoborophene
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Borophene (BPH), a monolayer boron allotrope, exhibits outstanding electrical and mechanical properties but remains intrinsically constrained by its excessive susceptibility to oxidative degradation in aqueous and physiological environments. This study demonstrates that protein-assisted exfoliation using human serum albumin (HSA) establishes a dynamic biointerfacial sheath (BIS) that decouples environmental stability from intracellular degradation. HSA forms a robust BIS via multivalent hydrophobic, electrostatic, and thiol-mediated interactions, driving exfoliation into ultrathin nanosheets while suppressing air- and serum-induced oxidation. Proteinized BPH (PBPH) shows enhanced extracellular colloidal and chemical stability; however, upon cellular uptake, the same interface promotes rapid reactive oxygen species-driven degradation, leading to lattice fragmentation, loss of crystallinity, and conversion into soluble boronate species. Multimodal analyses confirm accelerated degradation kinetics and environmental stability of PBPH. These results highlight the protein corona as an active regulator of nanomaterial fate, enabling programmable decoupling of extracellular persistence from intracellular clearance in oxidation-prone two-dimensional systems.
Source: ACS Nano
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,500
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Defense, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State University, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs
Awards: G1329531711, G2520514070, G3575321656, G4187099174, G4397475435, G4809882041, Collaborative Research: Real time Chemical Imaging of Nanoparticle Templated Tubulin-Polymerization, TA Instruments Low Volume AutoAffinity ITC, G6540727664, G7022389352, Collaborative Research: Real time Chemical Imaging of Nanoparticle Templated Tubulin-Polymerization, G7984096390, G8054446994, G8637496423
OpenAlex ID: W7212035371