Gold nanoparticles hold promise as both a stable drug delivery system as well as a targeted inhibitor of protein:protein interactions. The flexibility and ease of modifying the surface of nanoparticles enables them to be tailored to specific cellular environments and tasks. Due to these characteristics, I have been able to effectively modify gold. To further investigate gold nanoparticles as drug delivery systems, it is important to understand where they localize once inside the cell. One possible way of determining the cellular fate of the nanoparticles is conduction cell fractionization studies coupled with ICP-MS. A protocol using sucrose gradients along with high-speed ultracentrifugation allows for the various cellular organelles to be separated and digested. Once each fraction is digested, I can monitor where the gold nanoparticles localize inside the cell
