The Effect of Gold Nanoparticles and β-Carotene on the States of Hemoglobin Present in Erythrocytes

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), because of their unique properties, are gaining increasing interest in various fields of science. Significant attention is paid to their potential biomedical applications. They exhibit advantageous properties — such as being inert, non-toxic, and biocompatible — which make them, among other things, very promising drug carriers and agents for photothermal therapy, diagnostics, and bioimaging. Carotenoids constitute a large group of natural antioxidants that are delivered to the human body through food. They can accumulate in the blood, particularly in the plasma and in the hydrophobic regions of the erythrocyte membranes. The widely studied model carotenoid, β-carotene, was already demonstrated to affect the structural and functional properties of erythrocytes. Here, the preliminary results of the studies on the effect of AuNPs on hemoglobin present in isolated red blood cells are reported. Data were obtained using Mössbauer spectroscopy applied to monitor the state of hemoglobin subjected to AuNPs treatment with or without β-carotene. The results demonstrate that, at the concentration used, AuNPs lead to significant changes in the hemoglobin state, causing a prominent increase in the methemoglobin form. The addition of β-carotene reduced the effect of AuNPs on hemoglobin.