Novel Zwitterionic-Polymer-Coated Silica Nanoparticles

Abstract

In this work, silica nanoparticles covered with an initiator silane were grafted with novel biocompatible and functionalizable zwitterionic poly[[3-(acryloylamino)propyl](2-carboxyethyl)dimethylammonium] (polyCBAA) via atomic transfer radical polymerization. The stability of these particles in protein solutions and their functionalization were investigated. Dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy were employed to characterize these particles. Results indicate that the polyCBAA-modified nanoparticles are stable for at least 72 h in both negative and positive protein solutions. The size distribution remains the same before and after protein incubation. Moreover, our results show that polyCBAA-modified silica nanoparticles can be easily functionalized. This makes these particles ideal candidates for future applications in targeted drug delivery and diagnostics in complex media.

Ultralow‐Fouling, Functionalizable, and Hydrolyzable Zwitterionic Materials and Their Derivatives for Biological Applications

“…While CB-coated GNPs were prepared via thiol chemistry, CB-coated silica nanoparticles prepared via silane chemistry were also tested. [100] From these results, it is conceivable that pCB can be a generic coating platform for a variety of nanoparticle systems with superstability in blood for long circulation times and with multifunctionality for high drug loading, dye conjugation, and targeting all in one nanoparticle for therapeutic, diagnostic, or theranostics applications.…”

Zwitterionic ceramics for biomedical applications

“…The most widely used method to graft zwitterionic polymers to bioceramic surfaces is the surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) [38]. This method has been used to coat silica NPs with poly(sulfobetaine) (pSB) (structure 6, Figure 2) [39] and polycarboxybetaine (pCB) derivatives [40,41]. Alternatively, surface reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization has been used to graft SB copolymers from mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNPs) [42].…”

Zwitteration: Coating Surfaces with Zwitterionic Functionality to Reduce Nonspecific Adsorption

“…(A monolayer of sulfobetaine siloxane on silica also provides a zero zeta potential. 85 ) The grafting-from methodology is now widely used to produce highly stable zwitterion brushes on silica 93 or iron oxide 46 NPs.…”