The 280-nm absorbance values of the Trp-2 peptides were Go6983 used to generate a concentration standard curve. The peak absorbance values in

the visible range (400 to 800 nm) from the dilutions of the 30-nm gold colloid stock (2 × 1011 particles/ml) were used to plot against the 280-nm absorbance values. The actual 280-nm absorbance of the Trp-2 peptides was measured by calculating the difference between the Trp-2 peptide 280-nm absorbance values for the Trp-2 AuNVs and the standardized 280-nm values from the 30-nm gold colloids. The peptide concentration was calculated by correlating the absorbance values to the Trp-2 standard curve (Additional file 1: Figure S1). Toxicity test protocol One-hundred microliters of JAWS II cells, a BMDC cell line, were added to a 96-well plate (500,000 cells/ml). Ovalbumin (OVA) or gp100 AuNVs (1 to 10 μl of 1011particles/ml) were added to the cells ABT-737 for 24 h at 37°C. Ten microliters of alamarBlue (Life Technologies Corporation, Carlsbad, CA, USA) was then added to each well and incubated for 2 h at 37°C. The fluorescent

readings at 585 nm (excited at 570 nm) were measured with a Fluorolog-3 plate reader. Lysate degradation study From the one-step AuNV protocol, 25 μg of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) fluorescent peptides were added to the solution prior to hydroxylamine. This step allows the fluorescent peptides to be on the outside layer of the AuNVs. JAWS II cells (500,000) were lysed in 1 ml CHAPS lysis buffer. The particles (1011) were added to either the CHAPS lysis buffer or to the JAWS II lysate for 24 h. The particles were removed by centrifuging at 7,000×g for 20 min. The supernatants were transferred to a 96-well plate, and the FITC fluorescence was measured at 520 nm (excitation at 485 nm). Results and discussion Self-assembled AuNV particle synthesis First, carboxyl-PEG-thiols were self-assembled onto citrate-stabilized 30-nm gold colloids to form a monolayer. PEG was chosen for its bio-inert and non-toxic properties and the ability to protect AuNPs during the conjugation process [20]. Next, 3-oxoacyl-(acyl-carrier-protein) reductase EDC and sulfo-NHS linkers in MES buffer were added to the particle solution for carboxyl activation. Following the suggested

protocol adapted from Grabarek and Gergely [21], the majority of the excess linkers were then removed from the solution via a centrifuge filter. The particles were transferred to PBS buffer, and the vaccine peptides or hydroxylamine (control) were subsequently added. This two-step method is best known to allow coupling of the two proteins without strongly affecting the second protein’s carboxyls. Three MHC class I peptides were used: one from model SC79 datasheet antigen OVA (SIINFEKL) and two from melanoma antigens, gp100 (KVPRNQDWL) and Trp-2 (SVYDFFVWL) [22, 23]. Peptide conjugation was verified by measuring the optical extinction spectra for preconjugated particles (PEG-coated 30-nm gold colloids), hydroxylamine (NH2OH) particles, and gp100 (KVPRNQDWL) AuNVs.