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Sequential Growth of Quantized Peptide Brushes on Colloidal Gold
Matthew G Langenstein1, Kenneth Crane-Moscowitz2, James M Brennan1
1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States.
Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids
|January 29, 2025
Summary
Researchers created precisely controlled macromolecular brushes on gold nanoparticles using peptide bundlemers. This advancement enables the development of enhanced local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR)-based biosensors and protein characterization tools.
Area of Science:
- Nanotechnology
- Materials Science
- Biophysics
Background:
- Macromolecular brushes offer tunable surface properties.
- Precise control over brush length and grafting density is challenging.
- Peptide self-assembly provides a route to well-defined nanostructures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize rigid macromolecular brushes with quantized lengths on gold nanoparticles.
- To develop and validate a local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) model for characterizing these brushes.
- To explore the potential of these brushes for advanced biosensing applications.
Main Methods:
- Macromolecular "grafting from" approach using thiol- and maleimide-functionalized peptide coiled coil "bundlemers".
- Characterization using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryoTEM).
- Development and application of a simplified LSPR model for brush analysis.
Main Results:
- Achieved well-defined, quantized brush lengths on gold nanoparticles.
- Demonstrated sequential growth of brush thickness with each macromonomer layer.
- Validated the LSPR model's accuracy using DLS and cryoTEM.
Conclusions:
- The synthesized brushes exhibit high grafting density and precise thickness control.
- The developed LSPR model accurately quantifies brush parameters.
- These findings pave the way for multifunctional LSPR biosensors and improved protein adsorption characterization on nanoparticles.
