Glassy, block-copolymer surfactants as in vivo and in vitro nanoparticle stabilizers

PMSE 191

T. Andrew Taton1, Yuji Shibasaki2, Byeong-Su Kim, bskim@chem.umn.edu1, Alexi J. Young1, Ying Chen, yingchen@chem.umn.edu1, and Chao Zuo1. (1) Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, 455 Kolthoff Hall, 207 Pleasant Street, S.E, Minneapolis, MN 55455, (2) Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-H382, O-okayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 152-8552, Japan
Metal and semiconductor nanoparticles have been adapted to a variety of biological protocols. For both Ag and semiconductors, however, leaching of ions from the particle surface into aqueous solution can result in Ostwald ripening, changes in optical properties, and toxicity (in the case of cadmium-based quantum dots). In an effort to develop nanoparticles that survive physiological environments, we have encapsulated Ag nanostructures and semiconductor QDs within crosslinked poly(styrene-block-acrylic acid) (PS-b-PAAXL) block-copolymer surfactants. We report that the optical properties of the resulting particle-core, surfactant-shell structures are stable to extreme conditions that extinguish the unique properties of other ligand-, polymer- or surfactant-capped nanoparticles.
 

Beyond Biocompatibility: Characterization of Functional Biomaterials
1:30 PM-5:25 PM, Tuesday, August 21, 2007 Westin Boston Waterfront -- Grand Ballroom D, Oral

Division of Polymeric Materials: Science & Engineering

The 234th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 19-23, 2007