Interactive RAFT polymer-decorated gold nanoparticles for biomedical use

The overall aim of this thesis is to investigate the engineering of interactive properties into gold nanoparticles by decorating them with RAFT-based polymers. More specifically, we investigated in detail how the interaction can be engineered between gold nanoparticles mutually, between gold nanoparticles and solid surfaces, livings cells and viruses. In CHAPTER2, we aimed to investigate the effect of salt on the temperature induced reversible aggregation of polymer coated gold nanoparticles, as well as on hydrogen bonding based layer-by-layer assembly with tannic acid. Although the preparation of temperature-responsive gold nanoparticles has been reported via a variety of methods, not much has been reported on how the solvent quality influences the thermosensitive properties of these particles. Therefore, there is still a need to understand the influence of salt on the self-assembly of polymer-gold nanoparticles hybrid structures. The obtained knowhow was then used in CHAPTER3 to develop a salt-driven deposition method, allowing for depositing metal nanoparticles on a wide variety of solid surface under all aqueous conditions. It is known that size, shape and surface chemistry of gold nanoparticles can affect their uptake by living cells. In CHAPTER 4, we aimed to explore how the polymer coating with different hydrophilic-to-hydrophobic ratios affects the cellular uptake of gold nanoparticles. In addition, a novel flow cytometry method was developed for label-free investigation of gold nanoparticles-cell interaction and then used to elucidate in more depth the parameters that play a role in the cellular internalization of gold nanoparticles coated with polymers containing various hydrophilic-to-hydrophobic monomer ratios. The aim of the CHAPTER 5 was to develop a straightforward strategy to fabricate bioactive glycosylated gold nanoparticles, allowing for rapid and sensitive detection of influenza virus. A combination of RAFT polymerization, carbohydrate ligation via reductive amination and thiol-gold self-assembly will be explored to design glycolpolymer decorated gold nanoparticles that exhibit multivalent interaction with hemagglutinin on the surface of the influenza virus. In CHAPTER 6, the results obtained in this thesis were discussed in view of the broader international context and the future developments to be expected in this field of research.

Jaar van publicatie:2016

Toegankelijkheid:Open