Surface Modifications of Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles with Polylactic Acid-Polyethylene Glycol Diblock Copolymer and Graphene Oxide for a Protein Delivery Vehicle

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION) have been used in the biomedical industry for such applications as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents or drug delivery for a number of years, however, none have included the use of graphene oxide as a protein/drug carrer or for reporting. In this study, after using a co-precipitation SPION synthesizing method, SPION is coated with polylactic acid-polyethylene glycol (PLA-PEG) diblock co-polymer through emulsion polymerization. The SPIO-PLA-PEG NPs are then coated with single layer of graphene oxide (GO). The biocompatable NPs can then be hydrogen-bonded surface coated with various proteins, without affecting the confirmation or active sites of the porteins.