Multi-amine-grafted SBA-15 spherical nanoparticles for the adsorption of proteins

Mesoporous silica spheres (SBA-15) have been obtained via a two-step synthesis process by using a triblock copolymer as a template in combination with a co-surfactant and co-solvent. Multi-amine-grafted mesoporous silicas were prepared by attaching 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane, N-2(-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane and (3-trimethoxysilylpropyl)diethylenetriamine via a post-synthetic method. The proteins used in adsorption experiments include Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA), Lysozyme (LYS) and Myoglobin (MYO). The protein adsorption properties such as equilibrium and kinetics were investigated. The results show that the original SBA-15 samples have the highest adsorption capacity for all proteins due to their largest pore size and internal surface area.