Síntese e aplicação de nanopartículas funcionalizadas como plataformas sensoriais e sondas de imagem

Resumo

Nanotechnology comprises the development and application of materials at the nanometer scale. Nanomaterials of all sorts have been widely explored in scientific studies, as new properties and applications are constantly being discovered. The functionalized nanoparticles can present a specific surface interaction to help developing sensor platforms with high specificity, selectivity, and sensibility. Besides, the functionalized nanoparticles are important in biotechnology, such as biomedical applications for the new generation of cell probes or carriers for drug delivery. The surface properties of the nanoparticles critically govern the efficiency and entrance of nanomaterials into biosystems. Thus, the development of functionalized nanoparticles opened an important research field, which interfaces with different areas. This work is focused on the synthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles functionalized with organic molecules with reactive groups (amine and carboxylic derivatives), inorganic (core-shell formation), or biomolecules. The influence of the nanoparticle morphology can also be evaluated. The synthesized nanoparticles will be characterized by using electron microscopy, extinction spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and zeta potential. The sensing application will be evaluated using the SERS technique for the detection of molecules with environmental and biological interest. The application as imaging probe will be carried out in mimetic systems of the lipid structure of cell membranes (biomimetic systems) using confocal fluorescence microscopy.