Versatile (Bio)Functionalization of Bromo-Terminated Phosphonate-Modified Porous Aluminum Oxide

• Published in: Langmuir Vol. 31; no. 20; pp. 5633 - 5644
• Main Authors: Debrassi, Aline, Roeven, Esther, Thijssen, Selina, Scheres, Luc, de Vos, Willem M, Wennekes, Tom, Zuilhof, Han
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 26.05.2015
• Subjects: Aluminum Oxide - chemistry; Bromus - chemistry; Cross-Linking Reagents - chemistry; Fluorescent Dyes - chemistry; Laboratorium voor Microbiologie; Laboratorium voor Organische chemie; Laboratory for Organic Chemistry; Microbiological Laboratory; Microbiologie; Microbiology; Nanopores; Organic Chemistry; Organische Chemie; Phosphoric Acids - chemistry; Proteins - chemistry; VLAG
• ISSN: 0743-7463; 1520-5827
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b00853

Porous aluminum oxide (PAO) is a nanoporous material used for various (bio)­technological applications, and tailoring its surface properties via covalent modification is a way to expand and refine its application. Specific and complex chemical modification of the PAO surface requires a stepwise approach in which a secondary reaction on a stable initial modification is necessary to achieve the desired terminal molecular architecture and reactivity. We here show that the straightforward initial modification of the bare PAO surface with bromo-terminated phosphonic acid allows for the subsequent preparation of PAO with a wide scope of terminal reactive groups, making it suitable for (bio)­functionalization. Starting from the initial bromo-terminated PAO, we prepared PAO surfaces presenting various terminal functional groups, such as azide, alkyne, alkene, thiol, isothiocyanate, and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS). We also show that this wide scope of easily accessible tailored reactive PAO surfaces can be used for subsequent modification with (bio)­molecules, including carbohydrate derivatives and fluorescently labeled proteins.