Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
TABLe 15.1 (continued)
Examples.of.Polymers.Used.in.Nanobiotechnology.and.Their.
Structures
Polymer Name
Structure
PSMA
O
O
O
n
Poly(2-
methacryloxloxyethyl.
phosphorylcholine).
(MPC)
n
O
O
-
O
O
P
N
+
O
O
are.sensitive.to.many.external.stimuli,.they.can.be.used.for.numerous.applications,.par-
ticularly.biological.applications.
In.a.study.conducted.by.Luchini.et.al..(2008),.“smart”.hydrogel.NPs.were.synthesized.
as.biomarkers.for.disease.detection.in.blood.samples..These.particles.were.designed.spe-
ciically. to. perform. three. different. procedures. in. a. single. step. within. minutes:. (1). size.
exclusion,. (2). afinity. puriication. of. solution-phase. target. molecules,. and. (3). protection.
of. harvested. proteins. from. enzyme. degradation.. Hydrogels. can. be. used. for. immobili-
zation. purposes. as. well.. Kusters. et. al.. (2011). employed. hydrogels. for. immobilization. of.
membrane.proteins..These.hydrogels.were.composed.of.organic.gelators.and.were.used.
to. immobilize. the. proteins. in. their. native. lipid. environment. as. well. as. synthetic. ones..
Poly(2-hydroxyethyl. methacrylate). (PHEMA). is. an. example. of. a. speciic. polymer. which.
is.capable.of.forming.a.hydrogel.when.exposed.to.water..PHEMA.has.also.been.used.for.
protein.binding.applications..This.polymer.was.used.to.make.“brushes”.that.were.grown.
out.of.a.porous.alumina.substrate.(Sun.et.al..2006)..These.PHEMA.“brushes”.were.then.
functionalized.so.proteins.would.adsorb.to.them.and.could.later.be.puriied.
15.2.3.2 PDMS
Polydimethylsiloxane.(PDMS).is.a.silicone-based.organic.polymer..This.polymer.is.known.
for. its. unique. low. properties;. when. placed. under. high. temperature. conditions,. PDMS.
behaves.like.a.viscous.liquid,.and.at.low.temperatures,.it.behaves.like.an.elastic.solid..It.is.
nontoxic,.inert,.and.transparent,.which.makes.it.ideal.for.biological.applications.
While.PDMS.is.primarily.used.for.protein.adhesion.because.of.its.hydrophobic.nature.
and.biofouling.tendency,.current.studies.are.examining.the.use.of.modiied.PDMS.sur-
faces. for. anti-fouling. and. anti-microbial. applications. for. the. medical. ield.. Goda. et. al..
conducted.a.study.in.which.they.grafted.PDMS.with.poly(2-methacryloxloxyethyl.phos-
phorylcholine). (poly(MPC)).. Poly(MPC). is. a. polymer. that. resists. nonspeciic. protein.
binding. because. of. the. free. water. that. surrounds. the. polymer. chain.. This. polymer. is.
also. known. to. stabilize. biomolecules. that. are. adsorbed. to. its. surface.. Grafting. PDMS.
with. poly(MPC). left. benzophenone. on. the. PDMS. surface. since. it. is. insoluble. in. water.
