McNair Scholars Program
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McNair Scholar Recognition: Rose Zilberberg

Read about the summer research conducted by our scholars!

McNair Scholars Program November 22, 2019 at 12:47 PM
Title of Presentation: Glass Surface Properties and Functionalization to Enhance Biocompatibility and Visibility

Research Mentor : Dr. Zev Rosenzweig, Dr. Kinneret Rand

Department: Chemistry, Biology

Abstract: Glass made medical microdevices are used extensively in a broad range of biomedical applications. Design constraints for glass-based micro devices include low visibility when used in cells and organisms and non-specific binding of macromolecules to exposed glass surfaces, which often lead to reduced function. The objective of this study is to employ novel silanization strategies to modify glass surfaces to enhance visibility and biocompatibility. The specific aims of this study include (1) Covalently attach gold nanoparticles to glass surfaces to enhance visibility; (2) modify the glass surface with polyethylene glycol containing silanization agents to enhance biocompatibility. These aims were realized by coating the glass surface with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and gold-nanoparticles using EDC coupling chemistry. Successful modification of the glass surface requires that the glass surface be cleaned thoroughly to remove organic material from the glass surface prior to the coupling reaction. The glass surface is then silanized with silanization agents which are terminated with desired functional groups. PEG spacers link between the glass and the silanized gold-nanoparticles to coat the glass with a thin pink/purple layer of gold nanoparticles. Research to test the impact of the surface modification strategy on visibility and reduced non-specific binding of proteins to glass surfaces in model biological solutions and in zebrafish embryos is on-going.
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