Metal nanoparticles have been extensively explored for imaging, photothermal therapeutic, and drug delivery applications, due to their tunable photophysical properties accessed by feasible syntheses that allow for control over their sizes and morphologies. However, in order to design efficient nanoplatforms for these applications, the relationship between physicochemical properties (e.g. surface chemistry, size, form, charge) of such colloidal particles and their interactions with biological entities must be understood in detail. To improve the aqueous stability and decrease the undesirable nonspecific protein adsorption to NPs surfaces, different polymers together with the well-established poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) ligand, have been developed and used as coating materials to construct hybrid nanostructures. However, recent research has indicated that PEGylated biomaterials could lose stealth functions and undergo accelerated blood clearance by mononuclear phagocyte system. Therefore, the development of alternative coating materials that provide highly colloidal stable gold nanoparticles with low affinity for biomolecules present in physiological media and that impart functionalizable groups and evade the recognition by the immune system is highly desirable. The results presented will include surface chemistries approaches based on the use of active antifouling glycans [1], silica monolayers [2] and supramolecular chemistry [3] to increase stealth functions and to modulate cellular interactions.<br/><br/>

Surface modification strategies for interfacing metal nanoparticles with biological systems

2019 Spring National Meeting

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.