title: Chemical derivatization and biofunctionalization of hydrogel nanomembranes for potential biomedical and biosensor applications.
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.
authors.affiliation: Applied Physical Chemistry, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 253, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. Michael.Zharnikov@urz.uni-heidelberg.de.
authors.forename: Musammir
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Applied Physical Chemistry, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 253, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. Michael.Zharnikov@urz.uni-heidelberg.de.
authors.forename: Swen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schuster
authors.affiliation: Applied Physical Chemistry, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 253, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. Michael.Zharnikov@urz.uni-heidelberg.de.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zharnikov
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D001360:Avidin / Q000737:chemistry; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D001710:Biotin / Q000737:chemistry; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000737:chemistry*; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D055767:Immobilized Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry*; D023822:Tissue Engineering
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D020100:Hydrogels; D055767:Immobilized Proteins; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D001360:Avidin; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D001710:Biotin