title: Multifunctional PEGylated nanoclusters for biomedical applications.
abstract: A simple and versatile synthesis method to form water soluble multifunctional nanoclusters using polyethylene glycol (PEG) functionalized poly(maleic anhydride-alt-1-octadecene) amphiphilic brush copolymers (PMAO-g-PEG) was presented. Simply by tuning the core size and the initial nanocrystal concentration, manganese ferrite nanoparticles (MFNPs) were used to demonstrate the versatility of tuning the loading amount of the nanoclusters. The resultant nanoclusters were found to have a well-controlled spherical shape. When Zn-doped AgInS2 quantum dots (AIZS QDs) were loaded together with the MFNP nanocrystals, bi-functional nanoclusters with fluorescent and magnetic behaviors were obtained. Such bi-functional nanoclusters were also successfully demonstrated for cellular bio-imaging. Moreover, the presence of another type of nanocrystals together with MFNPs was found to have a negligible effect on the overall properties of the nanoclusters as demonstrated by the MR relaxivity test. From the time-dependent colloidal stability test, it was found that the presence of the PEG chain grafted onto PMAO was able to reduce protein adsorption onto the nanocluster surface. An in vitro study on NIH/3T3 demonstrated the biocompatibility of the nanoclusters. Such biocompatible and colloidally stable nanoclusters with an approximate size of 80-120 nm were suitable for both MRI and cell labeling applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117576.
authors.forename: Erwin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Eugene Shi Guang
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Choo
authors.forename: Cherie Shi Hua
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Xiaosheng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sheng
authors.forename: Junmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xue
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005290:Ferric Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D008299:Maleic Anhydrides / Q000737:chemistry*; D017895:Manganese Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing; D051379:Mice; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry*; D045663:Quantum Dots
chemical_list: D005290:Ferric Compounds; D008299:Maleic Anhydrides; D017895:Manganese Compounds; C551151:manganese ferrite; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols