Nanocomposites and methods of making same

Inventors

Biris, Alexandru S. • Kumpuris, Andrew G. • Nima, Zeid

Assignees

University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Abstract

A method of making a nanocomposite includes forming at least one gold nanorod; coating a silver layer on an outer surface of the gold nanorod; assembling a Raman reporter molecule layer on the coated silver layer; coating a pegylated layer on the assembled Raman reporter molecule layer; and conjugating the coated pegylated layer with an active layer, the active layer comprising at least one of a targeting molecule configured to bind to the target of interest and a functional molecule configured to interact with the target of interest.

Core Innovation

The document addresses SERS-based nanocomposites and provides a nanocomposite construction sequence that combines gold nanorods with a silver layer and a Raman reporter molecule layer for Raman signal enhancement, followed by a pegylated layer and an active layer. The coated nanostructure is conjugated with an active layer that includes at least one targeting molecule configured to bind to a target of interest and/or a functional molecule configured to interact with the target of interest.

The document further specifies a method for forming the nanostructure by forming at least one gold nanorod, coating a silver layer on an outer surface of the gold nanorod, assembling a Raman reporter molecule layer on the coated silver layer, and coating a pegylated layer on the assembled Raman reporter molecule layer. It also specifies a pegylated layer based on thiolated PEG (HS-PEG-COOH), positioned between the Raman reporter molecule layer and the active layer for subsequent conjugation.

The document additionally specifies conjugation of the coated pegylated layer with an active layer using targeting molecules and functional molecules. Targeting molecules include antibodies configured to bind to targets of interest, with named examples including anti-EpCAM, anti-CD44, anti-IGF-1 receptor β, and anti-Keratin 18, and the corresponding conjugated nanocomposite can be used with a surface-enhanced Raman spectrometer and signal processing to detect or monitor targets.

Claims Coverage

The independent claim describes a method of making a nanocomposite that includes five core inventive operations: gold nanorod formation, silver-layer coating, Raman reporter molecule-layer assembly, pegylated-layer coating, and active-layer conjugation. It specifies an overall nanocomposite architecture with at least one targeting molecule and/or at least one functional molecule configured to interact with a target of interest, and ties those functions to an ordered SERS-active structure.

Across the independent claim and its refinements shown in the provided claim family members, the coverage centers on producing an ordered SERS-active nanocomposite with a gold nanorod, a silver layer, a Raman reporter molecule layer, a pegylated layer, and an active layer. The claim family also characterizes the gold nanorod formation and silver-layer coating using specific reagent sequences and pH elevation to initiate silver ion reduction.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications