Immobilized Metallic Nanoparticles as Unique Materials for Therapeutic and Biosensor Applications

Abstract

The present invention relates to compositions and methods by which surface modification techniques can be used to modify wide range polymeric or metal substrates using metal nanoparticles.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is entitled to priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. provisional patent application No. 60 / 961,587, filed on Jul. 23, 2007. The entire disclosure of the afore-mentioned patent application is incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF INVENTION[0002]This invention relates generally to methods and compositions useful for adding metallic nanoparticles to various substrates.BACKGROUND[0003]Nanoparticles have been broadly defined as particles having one or more dimensions of the order of 100 nm or less. Even though various materials such as polymers, ceramics, metals and organic molecules are being currently investigated for developing nanosized particles, metal nanoparticles have raised significant interest due to their unique properties.[0004]Nanosized metallic particles, mainly gold and silver nanoparticles, have attracted attention because of their unique optical and electrical properties, as well as potential biom...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010]The present disclosure demonstrates the development of mild and cost effective methods to immobilize metallic nanoparticles on polymeric or metallic substrates. This involves unique and mild processes to immobilize soft templates on the surface of polymeric materials which can be used to fabricate silver or gold nanoparticles by ion exchange method. The immobilization on polymeric substrates involves coating the surface with a photoactive polymer capable of synthesizing metallic nanoparticle on the surface. In one aspect, the template can be immobilized on any polymeric substrate using a mild and fast (1-2 minutes) photoreaction. The process is highly versatile as it can be used to create metallic nanoparticles such as silver nanoparticles on a wide range of polymeric substrates irrespective of its physical form, shape, or chemistry. A related method has also been designed for metallic biomaterials such as titanium. The data disclosed herein demonstrate the feasibility of synthesizing silver nanoparticles of different size ranges on the substrate surface depending on the reaction conditions. Furthermore, the process allows the feasibility of patterning surfaces with metallic nanoparticles demonstrating its potential for biosensor applications.

Problems solved by technology

Most of these approaches tend to produce surfaces coated with metal nanoparticles by physical adsorption or electrostatic interactions and are not highly suitable for practical biomedical applications.

Even though it is highly effective, the fabrication process has several limitations to be used for practical applications.

These include the lack of flexibility and controllability of the process, the limited range of materials that can be modified and the limited surface area that can be modified at a time.

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