Investigation of supramolecular nanostructures in liquid state using diffusion ordered (DOSY) NMR.

The large contact surface of nano-particles plays a crucial role in the broad range of industrial applications. Therefore, the thorough insight into the surface chemistry of such nanoparticles is of major importance. The aim of this project is to gain insight into the formation and size of a range of different supramolecular nano-structures such as micelles and liposomes by using diffusion NMR. The NMR is a robust and elegant technique with some important advantages when compared to other conventional analysis techniques, among which its non-destructiveness, no specific sample preparation and no specific requirements regarding optical transparence. Moreover, NMR can provide information, on the system composition as well as on the spatial arrangement of structural units within a nanostructure. In a first stage of the present research proposal, the diffusive properties of model clusters, selected on the basis of the expertise acquired recently in our groups, will be investigated. Mainly the fine-tuned generation and dimension determination of the supra-molecular nano-structures will be investigated as a function of the nature of the ligand and the nano-particle, as well as of the nature of the of the interaction (chelation, electrostatic force, p-stacking, chemical tethering,...), the solvent, the concentration, and, in aqueous media, the pH. In a second stage, polyethylene oxide (PEO) stabilized liposomes will be investigated. In the third stage of the project the supramolecular systems combining several types of nanostructures, such as polymers polypeptides, polynucleotides and related block copolymers (e.g. peptido-mimetic and lipido-mimetic PEO) incorporated into micelles and liposomes will be investigated.

Keywords:Liposomes, Micelles, Nano-clusters, Nano-particles, DOSY NMR

Disciplines:Physical chemistry, Macromolecular and materials chemistry, Analytical chemistry