Immobilization of Protein A on Monodisperse Magnetic Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications

We presented synthesis and physical characterization of iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4) for biomedical applications in the size range of 10-30 nm. Magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized by the coprecipitation method, and the particles’ size was controlled by two different injection methods of sodium hydroxide (NaOH). The synthesized magnetic nanoparticles were then modified by using series of linkers including tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES), and glutaraldehyde (GA) to generate the structure of Fe3O4/SiO2/NH2/CHO, which can be used for immobilization of protein A. Additionally, we used transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), vibrating-sample magnetometry (VSM), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), for characterization of properties and structure of the nanoparticles. An immobilization of protein A on magnetic nanoparticles was studied with a UV-Vis spectrum (UV-Vis) and fluorescence electron microscopy and Bradford method. Results showed that an XRD spectrum with a peak at (311) corresponded to the standard peak of magnetic nanoparticles. In addition, the magnetic nanoparticles with  nm have higher saturation magnetizations in comparison with the smaller ones with  nm. However, the smaller magnetic nanoparticles offered higher efficiency for binding of protein A, due to the high surface/volume ratio. These particles with functional groups on their surface are promising candidates for biomedical applications, e.g., drug delivery, controlled drug release, or disease diagnosis in point-of-care test.