Peptide multifunctionalized gold nanorods decrease toxicity of β-amyloid peptide in a Caenorhabditis elegans model of Alzheimer's disease.

The properties of nanometric materials make nanotechnology a promising platform for tackling problems of contemporary medicine. In this work, gold nanorods were synthetized and stabilized with polyethylene glycols and modified with two kinds of peptides. The D1 peptide that recognizes toxic aggregates of Aβ, a peptide involved in Alzheimer's disease (AD); and the Angiopep 2 that can be used to deliver nanorods to the mammalian central nervous system. The nanoconjugates were characterized using absorption spectrophotometry, dynamic light scattering, and transmission electron microscopy, among other techniques. We determined that the nanoconjugate does not affect neuronal viability; it penetrates the cells, and decreases aggregation of Aβ peptide in vitro. We also showed that when we apply our nanosystem to a Caenorhabditis elegans AD model, the toxicity of aggregated Aβ peptide is decreased. This work may contribute to the development of therapies for AD based on metallic nanoparticles.