New work describing an alternative way to functionalise nanoparticles for cancer diagnostics and th

Our collaborative work with A/Prof Andrei Zvyagin from the Department of Physics and Astronomy and Prof Sergey Deyev from the Russian Academy of Sciences has been accepted in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. The work describes an alternative way to functionalise nanoparticles for cancer diagnostics and therapy.

The method is based on a SiO2-binding peptide that binds to the nanoparticle surface and a protein adaptor system, Barnase*Barstar protein pair, serving as a “molecular glue” between the peptide and attached biomolecule. The biomodification procedure shortens to several minutes, preserves the orientation and functions of biomolecules and enables control over the number and ratio of attached molecules. The demonstrated capabilities show this method as promising alternative to commonly used chemical conjugation techniques in nanobiotechnology, theranostics and clinical applications.