Generation of nanoparticels with tunable surface wettability and surface functionalitiy to cross hydrophilic/hydrophobic interfaces of biological barriers

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There has been much speculation about the potential use of nanoparticles in biomedicine. One of the formidable challenges hindering the in vivo biomedical use of nanoparticles is to cross biological barriers. The aqueous biological milieu requires nanoparticles having a highly hydrophilic surface. In contrast, all biological barriers such as brain, lung and skin, embody hydrophobic-hydrophilic interfaces, so a hydrophobic surface should favor nanoparticles crossing these barriers. To fulfill these two conflicting demands for nanoparticles crossing biological barriers, the present project is devoted to fabrication of surface tunable nanoparticles, whose surface functionality such as charge nature and density, wettability, capability of conjugating with biomolecules can be tuned by environmental stimuli. This innovative surface behavior will rely on capping nanoparticles with stimuli-responsive polymer brushes, obtained via either grafting-to and grafting-from strategies. The correlation of the surface properties of nanoparticles and surface response to the environmental stimuli with the local structures of the polymer capping will be systematically studied. Based on the stimuli-tunable surface properties of nanoparticles, the response of the particle physicochemical properties, such as magnetic behavior and hyperthermia derived thereof will be studied In close collaboration with the partners we will study the potential of use of surface tunable nanoparticles to cross biological barriers.