Recyclable magnetic nanocluster crosslinked with poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(2-vinyl-4,4-dimethylazlactone) copolymer for adsorption with antibody

Abstract Surface modification of magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) with poly(ethylene oxide)- block -poly(2-vinyl-4,4-dimethylazlactone) (PEO- b- PVDM) diblock copolymers and its application as recyclable magnetic nano-support for adsorption with antibody were reported herein. PEO- b -PVDM copolymers were first synthesized via a reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization using poly(ethylene oxide) chain-transfer agent as a macromolecular chain transfer agent to mediate the RAFT polymerization of VDM. They were then grafted on amino-functionalized MNP by coupling with some azlactone rings of the PVDM block to form magnetic nanoclusters with tunable cluster size. The nanocluster size could be tuned by adjusting the chain length of the PVDM block. The nanoclusters were successfully used as efficient and recyclable nano-supports for adsorption with anti-rabbit IgG antibody. They retained higher than 95% adsorption of the antibody during eight adsorption-separation-desorption cycles, indicating the potential feasibility in using this novel hybrid nanocluster as recyclable support in cell separation applications.