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Published on: March 4, 2021
Dynamic nanosurface reconfiguration by host-guest supramolecular interactions
Héctor Fernández-Caro1, Alejandro Méndez-Ardoy, Javier Montenegro1
1Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biolóxica e Materiais Moleculares (CIQUS), Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain. alejandro.mendez@usc.es.
Researchers developed dynamic nanoparticle surfaces using host-guest chemistry for reversible peptide exchange. This enables intracellular reconfiguration of biocompatible nanomaterials, overcoming limitations of covalent methods.
Area of Science:
- Nanotechnology
- Supramolecular Chemistry
- Biomaterials Science
Background:
- Covalent functionalization of nanoparticles limits dynamic surface reconfiguration.
- Supramolecular host-guest interactions offer reversible, self-healing, and modular surface modification.
- Existing methods struggle with dynamic exchange of biocompatible oligomers on nanoparticle surfaces.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate intracellular reconfiguration of nanoparticle surfaces using host-guest chemistry.
- To enable dynamic chemical modulation of nanoparticle surfaces with biocompatible peptides.
- To overcome limitations of covalent strategies for nanoparticle functionalization.
Main Methods:
- Functionalization of gold nanoparticles with cyclodextrin hosts.
- Studying guest exchange with mono- and divalent adamantyl competitors.
- Characterization of nanoparticle size and surface potential.
- In cellulo experiments to demonstrate peptide layer reconfiguration.
Main Results:
- Successful host-guest mediated exchange of biocompatible oligomers on nanoparticle surfaces.
- Optimization of binding and stabilization properties of supramolecular nanoparticle systems.
- Demonstration of intracellular dynamic reconfiguration of peptide layers by controlling peptide valence.
Conclusions:
- Host-guest supramolecular systems enable direct exchange of surface pendants on nanoparticles.
- Intracellular dynamic chemical reconfiguration of biocompatible colloidal systems is achievable.
- This approach overcomes challenges in dynamic surface modification of nanoparticles with peptides.
