Research highlights: probing adsorbed organic coatings on nanoparticle surfaces

Abstract

Organic coatings adsorbed at a nanoparticle surface, together with the system properties, change the physicochemical properties of the nanoparticle, thereby possibly modifying its behavior and interactions with its surroundings. A detailed understanding of the coating and system properties and their relationship to nanoparticle behavior is therefore of great interest across all fields of nanotechnology, from medical and industrial applications to environmental implications of nanomaterials. Here, we highlight three studies that probe the properties and interactions of a variety of coatings on nanoparticle surfaces. In one study, both surface characterization methods and modeling approaches are applied to assess the persistence of citrate capping agents on gold nanoparticles upon adsorption of thiol ligands in ethanol. The second highlighted study demonstrates a labeling method for spatial mapping of binding sites on proteins adsorbed to colloidal particles, providing information on the composition and orientation of the adsorbed proteins. Finally, we highlight research that characterizes the interaction of proteins with grafted polymer coatings on nanoparticles and relates the structure of the resulting adsorbed layer to observed biological effects. These three studies outline general methodologies applicable for coating characterization.