Poly(vinylpyrrolidone) for bioconjugation and surface ligand immobilization

Poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP), a nonionic and nontoxic polymer with antifouling properties, has been synthesized via RAFT polymerization to obtain thiol-terminated PVP. We demonstrate that when the polymer is adsorbed onto the surface of colloidal silica particles, the terminal thiol groups of PVP remain accessible for chemical modification and lend themselves to the immobilization of ligands. We show that ligand attachment onto the surface via conjugation to PVP is reversible, as the polymer can be desorbed from the surface for conjugate and surface recovery. We present the conjugation of a model peptide and an oligonucleotide to PVP via the polymer terminal thiol and demonstrate that conjugates remain functional in molecular recognition assay. The developed technique offers a novel method to functionalize low-fouling surfaces for a variety of biomedical applications and presents opportunities to use PVP as a macromolecular drug carrier.