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    Formation mechanism for stable hybrid clusters of proteins and nanoparticles
    (Washington D.C. : American Chemical Society, 2015) Moerz, Sebastian T.; Kraegeloh, Annette; Chanana, Munish; Kraus, Tobias
    Citrate-stabilized gold nanoparticles (AuNP) agglomerate in the presence of hemoglobin (Hb) at acidic pH. The extent of agglomeration strongly depends on the concentration ratio [Hb]/[AuNP]. Negligible agglomeration occurs at very low and very high [Hb]/[AuNP]. Full agglomeration and precipitation occur at [Hb]/[AuNP] corresponding to an Hb monolayer on the AuNP. Ratios above and below this value lead to the formation of an unexpected phase: stable, microscopic AuNP–Hb agglomerates. We investigated the kinetics of agglomeration with dynamic light scattering and the adsorption kinetics of Hb on planar gold with surface-acoustic wave-phase measurements. Comparing agglomeration and adsorption kinetics leads to an explanation of the complex behavior of this nanoparticle–protein mixture. Agglomeration is initiated either when Hb bridges AuNP or when the electrostatic repulsion between AuNP is neutralized by Hb. It is terminated when Hb has been depleted or when Hb forms multilayers on the agglomerates that stabilize microscopic clusters indefinitely.
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    Protein identity and environmental parameters determine the final physico-chemical properties of protein-coated metal nanoparticles
    (Washington D.C. : American Chemical Society, 2015) Dewald, Inna; Isakin, Olga; Schubert, Jonas; Kraus, Tobias; Chanana, Munish
    When a nanomaterial enters a biological system, proteins adsorb onto the particle surface and alter the surface properties of nanoparticles, causing drastic changes in physico-chemical properties such as hydrodynamic size, surface charge and aggregation state, thus giving a completely new and undefined physico-chemical identity to the nanoparticles. In the present work, we study the impact of the protein identity (molecular weight and isoelectric point) and the environmental conditions (pH and ionic strength) on the final physico-chemical properties of a model nanoparticle system, i.e. gold nanoparticles. Gold nanoparticles either form stable dispersions or agglomerate spontaneously when mixed with protein solutions, depending on the protein and the experimental conditions. Strikingly, the agglomerates redisperse to individually dispersed and colloidally stable nanoparticles, depending on the purification pH. The final protein coated nanoparticles exhibit specific stabilities and surface charges that depend on protein type and the conditions during its adsorption. By understanding the interactions of nanoparticles with proteins under controlled conditions, we can define the protein corona of the NPs and thus their physico-chemical properties in various media.
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    Bifunctional poly(acrylamide) hydrogels through orthogonal coupling chemistries
    (Washington D.C. : American Chemical Society, 2017) Farrukh, Aleeza; Paez, Julieta I.; Salierno, Marcelo; Fan, Wenqiang; Berninger, Benedikt; del Campo, Aránzazu
    Biomaterials for cell culture allowing simple and quantitative presentation of instructive cues enable rationalization of the interplay between cells and their surrounding microenvironment. Poly(acrylamide) (PAAm) hydrogels are popular 2D-model substrates for this purpose. However, quantitative and reproducible biofunctionalization of PAAm hydrogels with multiple ligands in a trustable, controlled, and independent fashion is not trivial. Here, we describe a method for bifunctional modification of PAAm hydrogels with thioland amine- containing biomolecules with controlled densities in an independent, orthogonal manner. We developed copolymer networks of AAm with 9% acrylic acid and 2% N-(4-(5-(methylsulfonyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)phenyl)acrylamide. The covalent binding of thiol- and amine- containing chromophores at tunable concentrations was demonstrated and quantified by UV spectroscopy. The morphology, mechanical properties, and homogeneity of the copolymerized hydrogels were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, dynamic mechanical analysis, and confocal microscopy studies. Our copolymer hydrogels were bifunctionalized with polylysine and a laminin-mimetic peptide using the specific chemistries. We analyzed the effect of binding protocol of the two components in the maturation of cultured postmitotic cortical neurons. Our substrates supported neuronal attachment, proliferation, and neuronal differentiation. We found that neurons cultured on our hydrogels bifunctionalized with ligand-specific chemistries in a sequential fashion exhibited higher maturation at comparable culture times than using a simultaneous bifunctionalization strategy, displaying a higher number of neurites, branches, and dendritic filopodia. These results demonstrate the relevance of quantitative and optimized coupling chemistries for the performance of simple biomaterials and with sensitive cell types.