Protein-polymer core-shell (PPCS) nanostructures have been developed as promising nanocarriers for bioapplications due to their intrinsinc properties such as versatile biological functions and biocompatibility. One way to develop a PPCS nanostructure system is to use specific interactions between proteins and polymers; for example, the functional group of Nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) can interact with a hitidine-tagged protein through the Ni2+-NTA/Histidine interaction. In this study, we synthesized nitrilotriacetic acid-end-functionalized polycaprolactone (NTA-PCL) for the formation of degradable PPCS nanocarriers conjugated with hexahistidine-tagged green fluorescence proteins (His6-GFP). NTA-PCL was prepared using initiators containing NTA moiety via ring-opening polymerization (ROP). The structure of NTA-PCL was characterized using 1H NMR and SEC. The GFP/PCL nanocarriers loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) were constructed by adding DMF solution containing nickel-complexed NTA-PCL (Ni-NTA-PCL) and DOX to a phosphate buffer solution (PBS) containing His6-GFP. The diameter and the size distribution of the particles were analyzed by DLS and TEM. The conjugation between NTA-PCL and His6-GFP and the encapsulation of DOX were analyzed by super-resolution confocal microscopy (SRCM) and PL spectroscopy.

Protein-polymer nanocarrier based on nitrilotriacetic acid-end-functionalized poly(ε-caprolactone)

256th National Meeting (2018)

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