Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 13, 2026

Preparation of Poly(pentafluorophenyl acrylate) Functionalized SiO2 Beads for Protein Purification
Published on: November 19, 2018
A facile route to the synthesis of spherical poly(acrylic acid) brushes via RAFT polymerization for high-capacity
Zhenyuan Qu1, Fenglin Hu, Kaimin Chen
1School of Biomedical Engineering, Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, PR China.
Abstract:
Spherical poly(acrylic acid) brushes were prepared via a facile RAFT polymerization route from silica nanoparticles (SiO2@PAAs). A silane functionalized RAFT chain transfer agent was designed and synthesized by a one-step reaction, and then immobilized onto silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) through its R group to afford RAFT polymerization. Key structural parameters and contents of carboxyl groups of SiO2@PAAs were thoroughly characterized by transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, gel permeation chromatography, thermogravimetric analysis and conductometric titration. The SiO2@PAAs exhibit excellent dispersity, tunable brush thicknesses (14.6-68.8 nm) and abundant carboxyl groups (0.82-2.37 mmol/g). An ultra-high protein immobilization capacity (2600 μg streptavidin/mg SiO2@PAAs) was realized by virtue of its rich carboxyl groups and spherical brush structure, which opens up new possibilities for biomedical applications.

