Synthesis and characterization of glycerol dendrons, self-assembled monolayers on gold: a detailed study of their protein resistance

Biomacromolecules. 2009 May 11;10(5):1043-54. doi: 10.1021/bm801093t.

Abstract

Nonfouling surface coatings are of great interest for the development of advanced biomaterials used in biomedical and marine applications. Therefore, a lot of effort has been made to design new biocompatible materials and to understand the mechanisms of the protein repulsion. This study examines a series of polyglycerol (PG) dendrons modified by alkanethiols for their interactions with biofouling relevant proteins: fibrinogen (Fib), lysozyme (Lys), albumin (Alb), and pepsin (Pep). All polyglycerol dendrons [G1.0]-[G3.0] self-assembled monolayers with different terminal functionality (-OH, -OCH(3)) were prepared by applying simple Williamson ether formation followed by radical thiol addition to the alkene. Surface modification was performed by chemisorption of the different dendritic PG derivatives onto gold chips from ethanolic solution and then directly used in a screening with the respective proteins applying SPR spectroscopy. The effective and time-dependent SAM formation on gold was also revealed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It was demonstrated that the all polyglycerol dendrons [G1.0]-[G3.0] possess excellent resistance to the test proteins. Surprisingly, the SAMs of easily accessible [G1.0] dendron (M(w) = 426 g/mol) modified alkanethiol show the same high protein resistance as we could achieved for high molecular weight polymers (e.g., hyperbranched PG with M(n) = 2500 g/mol). However, significant changes in the amount of adsorbed proteins within the studied time frame of 24 h was not observed. Therefore, these oligoglycerol dendrons are a good alternative for the commonly used poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG).

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adsorption
  • Albumins / chemistry
  • Dendrimers* / chemical synthesis
  • Dendrimers* / chemistry
  • Fibrinogen / chemistry
  • Glycerol* / chemical synthesis
  • Glycerol* / chemistry
  • Gold / chemistry*
  • Membranes, Artificial
  • Muramidase / chemistry
  • Muramidase / metabolism
  • Pepsin A / chemistry
  • Polymers* / chemical synthesis
  • Polymers* / chemistry
  • Sulfhydryl Compounds / chemistry
  • Surface Properties

Substances

  • Albumins
  • Dendrimers
  • Membranes, Artificial
  • Polymers
  • Sulfhydryl Compounds
  • polyglycerol
  • Gold
  • Fibrinogen
  • Muramidase
  • Pepsin A
  • Glycerol