Poly(amino acid) functionalized maghemite and gold nanoparticles

Nanotechnology. 2013 Feb 22;24(7):075102. doi: 10.1088/0957-4484/24/7/075102. Epub 2013 Jan 28.

Abstract

Bimodal MRI/OI imaging probes are of great interest in nanomedicine. Although many organic polymers have been studied thoroughly for in vivo applications, reports on the use of poly(amino acid)s as coating polymers are scarce. In this paper, poly-(d-glutamic acid, d-lysine) (PGL) has been used for coating maghemite and gold nanoparticles. An advantage of this flexible and biocompatible polymer is that, once anchored to the nanoparticle surface, dangling lysine amino groups are available for the incorporation of new functionalities. As an example, Alexa Fluor derivatives have been attached to PGL-coated maghemite nanoparticles to obtain magnetic/fluorescent materials. These dual-property materials could be used as bimodal MRI/OI probes for in vivo imaging.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acids / chemistry*
  • Biopolymers / chemistry*
  • Electrophoresis, Agar Gel
  • Ferric Compounds / chemistry*
  • Gold / chemistry*
  • Magnetic Phenomena
  • Metal Nanoparticles / chemistry*
  • Metal Nanoparticles / ultrastructure
  • Spectrometry, Fluorescence
  • Spectrophotometry, Infrared
  • Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet

Substances

  • Amino Acids
  • Biopolymers
  • Ferric Compounds
  • ferric oxide
  • Gold