Université de Fribourg

Polyvinyl alcohol as a biocompatible alternative for the passivation of gold nanorods

Kinnear, Calum ; Burnand, David ; Clift, Martin J. D. ; Kilbinger, Andreas F. M. ; Rothen-Rutishauser, Barbara ; Petri-Fink, Alke

In: Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2014, vol. 53, no. 46, p. 12613–12617

The functionalization of gold nanorods (GNRs) with polymers is essential for both their colloidal stability and biocompatibility. However, a bilayer of the toxic cationic surfactant cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) adsorbed on the nanorods complicates this process. Herein, we report on a strategy for the biocompatible functionalization of GNRs with a hydrophobic polymeric precursor,...

Université de Fribourg

Cellular immunostimulation by CpG-sequence-coated DNA origami structures

Schüller, Verena J. ; Heidegger, Simon ; Sandholzer, Nadja ; Nickels, Philipp C. ; Suhartha, Nina A. ; Endres, Stefan ; Bourquin, Carole ; Liedl, Tim

In: ACS Nano, 2011, vol. 5, no. 12, p. 9696–9702

To investigate the potential of DNA origami constructs as programmable and noncytotoxic immunostimulants, we tested the immune responses induced by hollow 30-helix DNA origami tubes covered with up to 62 cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) sequences in freshly isolated spleen cells. Unmethylated CpG sequences that are highly specific for bacterial DNA are recognized by a specialized receptor of the...

Université de Fribourg

In vitro biocompatibility of new silver(I) coordination compound coated-surfaces for dental implant applications

Brunetto, Priscilla S. ; Slenters, Tünde Vig ; Fromm, Katharina M.

In: Materials, 2011, vol. 4, no. 2, p. 355-367

Biofilm formation on implant materials causes a common problem: resistance to aggressive pharmacological agents as well as host defenses. Therefore, to reduce bacterial adhesion to implant surfaces we propose to use silver(I) coordination networks as it is known that silver is the most powerful antimicrobial inorganic agent. As a model surface, self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold Au(111) was...