Issue 6, 2007
From the journal:

Molecular BioSystems

Synthesis, patterning and applications of star-shaped poly(ethylene glycol) biofunctionalized surfaces

Colin D. Heyes,a   Jürgen Groll,*bc   Martin Möllerb  and  G. Ulrich Nienhaus*ad  

* Corresponding authors

a Institut für Biophysik, Universität Ulm, Albert Einstein Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany

b DWI an der RWTH Aachen e.V., Pauwelsstr. 8, 52074 Aachen, Germany

c SusTech GmbH & Co KG, Petersenstr. 20, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
E-mail: juergen.groll@sustech.de

d Department of Physics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
E-mail: uli@uiuc.edu

Abstract

Poly(ethylene) glycol (PEG) is an excellent material to modify surfaces to resist non-specific protein adsorption. Linear PEG has been extensively studied both theoretically and experimentally and it has been found that resistance of PEG-coated surfaces to protein adsorption depends mainly on the molecular weight of the polymer and the surface grafting density. End-functionalized star-shaped PEGs allow for interpolymer crosslinking to form a dense layer. An excellent example of such a system consists of a 6-arm PEG/PPG (4 : 1) star polymer functionalized with isocyanate using IPDI. The end functionalization may be further biofunctionalized to recognize specific biomolecules such as streptavidin, His-tagged proteins, amino-terminated oligonucleotides and cell receptors. This functionalization may be patterned into specific geometries using stamping techniques or randomly distributed by statistical reaction of the end group with the biofunctional molecule in solution. The surface preparation uses simple spin-, dip- or spray-coating and produces smooth layers with low background fluorescence. These properties, together with the advantageous chemical properties of PEG, render the surfaces ideal for immobilizing proteins on surfaces with detection limits down to the single molecule level. Proteins immobilized on such surfaces are able to maintain their folded, functional form and are able to completely refold if temporarily exposed to denaturing conditions. Immobilized enzyme molecules were able to perform their function with the same activity as the enzyme in solution. Future directions of using surfaces coated with such crosslinked star polymers in highly sensitive and robust biotechnology applications will be discussed.

Graphical abstract: Synthesis, patterning and applications of star-shaped poly(ethylene glycol) biofunctionalized surfaces

About
Cited by
Related
Download options Please wait...

Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/B700055N
Article type
Review Article
Submitted
02 Jan 2007
Accepted
14 Mar 2007
First published
18 Apr 2007

Mol. BioSyst., 2007,3, 419-430

Permissions

Request permissions

Synthesis, patterning and applications of star-shaped poly(ethylene glycol) biofunctionalized surfaces

C. D. Heyes, J. Groll, M. Möller and G. U. Nienhaus, Mol. BioSyst., 2007, 3, 419 DOI: 10.1039/B700055N

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Spotlight

Advertisements