Modulation of astrocytic membrane potential using citrate stabilized gold nanoparticle to control brain hyper-excitability

Nanoparticles have a wide applicability in the field of neuroscience in controlling different neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, etc. These neurodegenerative disorders create a major health problem in the health care management. In most of the neurodegenerative disorders, hyper-excitability of neurons and supporting glial cells are major issues and control of hyperexcitability can protect the brain from degeneration. Astrocytes, a type of glia cell plays a role in controlling neuronal hyper-excitability in normal brain functioning. Thus, modulation of astrocytic function can be an imperative in case of neurological dysfunction caused by neuronal hyper-excitability. Thus, use of nanoparticle for modulation of these electrically active cells may be emphasized for controlling neurological disorders. Gold nanoparticles have unique charge and surface characteristic offered by its characteristic surface Plasmon spectral pattern, which may enhance the modulation of astrocyte function. Therefore, in the study, citrate stabilized gold nanoparticles were used to modulate astrocyte electrical properties. The experiment was conducted on cultured cells. Potassium Chloride (KCl) was used to excite the astrocyte artificially. The membrane potential of the normal and gold nanoparticles treated astrocyte membrane was studied using voltage- sensitive dye. The attachment of gold nanoparticles on the astrocyte membrane was observed under FESEM. The membrane potential study clearly showed the gold nanoparticles can lower the membrane potential value than potassium chloride treated control cells.