Phase Transfer and Surface Functionalization of Hydrophobic Nanoparticle using Amphiphilic Poly(amino acid)

Functionalization of nanoparticles with chemical and biochemical is essential for their biomedical and other application. However, most of the high quality nanoparticles are hydrophobic in nature due to surfactant capping and their conversion into water-soluble functional nanoparticle via appropriate coating and conjugation chemistry is extremely critical issue. Here we report amphiphilic poly(amino acid)-based one-pot coating and conjugation approach that can transform hydrophobic nanoparticle into water-soluble nanoparticle functionalized with primary amine, thiol, and biomolecule. We have designed amphiphilic polyaspartimide that can anchor hydrophobic nanoparticle through octadecyl groups, leaving the polar polyethylene glycol and aspartimide groups exposed outwards. The aspartimide group is then reacted with primary amine containing chemical/biomolecule with the formation of water-soluble functional nanoparticle. This approach has been extended to different hydrophobic nanoparticles and biomolecules. The present approach has advantages over existing approaches as coating and functionalization can be performed in one pot and functional nanoparticles have <12 nm hydrodynamic size, high colloidal stability, and biocompartibility. This developed approach can be used to derive biocompatible nanobioconjugates for various biomedical applications.