Chemical derivatization and biofunctionalization of hydrogel nanomembranes for potential biomedical and biosensor applications. Issue 17 (12th April 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Khan, Musammir; Schuster, Swen; Zharnikov, Michael
• Is Part Of: Physical chemistry chemical physics. Volume 18:Issue 17(2016)
• Page Start: 12035
• Page End: 12042
• Publication Date: 2016-04-12
• Subjects: Chemistry, Physical and theoretical -- Periodicals; 541.3
• DOI: 10.1039/c5cp07840g
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1463-9076

Abstract

Abstract : Chemically crosslinked, poly(ethylene glycol) based hydrogel nanomembranes can be functionalized with specific receptors and, subsequently, with specifically bound proteins, providing, at the same time, stable, protein-repelling matrices. Abstract : Poly(ethylene glycol) based hydrogel nanomembranes (PHMs) are demonstrated to be able to host protein-specific receptors, providing, at the same time, stable, protein-repelling matrices with a characteristic mesh size up to 7–8 nm. The membranes were prepared by crosslinking of amino- and epoxy-terminated STAR-PEG precursors and maintained their hydrogel and protein-repelling properties even at a deviation of the precursor composition from the equilibrium value (1 : 1). The grafting density of the test avidin protein, specifically attached to the biotin moieties coupled to the free amine groups in the PHMs, varied from 0.45 × 10 12 to 1.3 × 10 12 proteins per cm 2 within the sampling depth of the experiments (∼11.5 nm), depending on the precursor composition, whereas the analogous values for the non-specifically adsorbed proteins were lower by a factor of 4–5. The engineering of PHMs with biomolecule-specific receptors and their loading with biomolecules are of potential interest for sensor fabrication and biomedical applications, including tissue engineering and regenerative therapy.