TY - JOUR

T1 - Functionalization of polyacrylamide for nanotrapping positively charged biomolecules

AU - Davydova, Nadejda

AU - Xavier, Rodriguez

AU - Blazquez, Carlos

AU - Gomez, Andres

AU - Perevyazko, Igor

AU - Guasch, Judith

AU - Sergeev, Vladimir

AU - Laukhina, Elena

AU - Ratera, Imma

AU - Veciana, Jaume

PY - 2019/5/19

Y1 - 2019/5/19

N2 - Engineering new materials which are capable of trapping biomolecules in nanoscale quantities, is crucial in order to achieve earlier diagnostics in different diseases. This article demonstrates that using free radical copolymerization, polyacrylamide can be successfully functionalized with specific synthons for nanotrapping positively charged molecules, such as numerous proteins, through electrostatic interactions due to their negative charge. Specifically, two functional random copolymers, acrylamide/acrylic acid (1) and acrylamide/acrylic acid/N-(pyridin-4-yl-methyl)acrylamide (2), whose negative net charges differ in their water solutions, were synthetized and their ability to trap positively charged proteins was studied using myoglobin as a proof-of-concept example. In aqueous solutions, copolymer 1, whose net charge for a 100 chain fragment (Q pH 6/M) is -1.323 × 10 -3, interacted with myoglobin forming a stable monodisperse nanosuspension. In contrast, copolymer 2, whose value of Q pH 6/M equals -0.361 × 10 -3, was not able to form stable particles with myoglobin. Nevertheless, thin films of both copolymers were grown using a dewetting process, which exhibited nanoscale cavities capable of trapping different amounts of myoglobin, as demonstrated by bimodal AFM imaging. The simple procedures used to build protein traps make this engineering approach promising for the development of new materials for biomedical applications where trapping biomolecules is required.

AB - Engineering new materials which are capable of trapping biomolecules in nanoscale quantities, is crucial in order to achieve earlier diagnostics in different diseases. This article demonstrates that using free radical copolymerization, polyacrylamide can be successfully functionalized with specific synthons for nanotrapping positively charged molecules, such as numerous proteins, through electrostatic interactions due to their negative charge. Specifically, two functional random copolymers, acrylamide/acrylic acid (1) and acrylamide/acrylic acid/N-(pyridin-4-yl-methyl)acrylamide (2), whose negative net charges differ in their water solutions, were synthetized and their ability to trap positively charged proteins was studied using myoglobin as a proof-of-concept example. In aqueous solutions, copolymer 1, whose net charge for a 100 chain fragment (Q pH 6/M) is -1.323 × 10 -3, interacted with myoglobin forming a stable monodisperse nanosuspension. In contrast, copolymer 2, whose value of Q pH 6/M equals -0.361 × 10 -3, was not able to form stable particles with myoglobin. Nevertheless, thin films of both copolymers were grown using a dewetting process, which exhibited nanoscale cavities capable of trapping different amounts of myoglobin, as demonstrated by bimodal AFM imaging. The simple procedures used to build protein traps make this engineering approach promising for the development of new materials for biomedical applications where trapping biomolecules is required.

KW - DNA

KW - FILMS

KW - MARKER

KW - MYOGLOBIN

KW - OPTICAL MANIPULATION

KW - PARTICLE

KW - TRAP

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85065997785&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1039/c8ra07764a

DO - 10.1039/c8ra07764a

M3 - Article

VL - 9

SP - 15402

EP - 15409

JO - RSC Advances

JF - RSC Advances

SN - 2046-2069

IS - 27

ER -