Chapter 3 - Biocompatibility and Functionalization

Abstract

The physical, electronic, chemical, and optical properties of nanomaterials (NMs) have are being exploited to benefit medicine. At the nanometer scale, quantum mechanical effects emerge leading to varied and unexpected physicochemical properties that make them useful for biosensor applications that can potentially provide solutions to the problems of existing methods. In this chapter, the NMs that are usually produced in organic solvents are converted into their water soluble form that makes them biocompatible. Various techniques such as ligand exchange, encapsulation, and polymer coating have been demonstrated in the preparation of water soluble NMs. The water soluble NMs that are now currently commercially available contain functional groups on their surfaces making them easy to manipulate for various medical applications. Functional groups anchored to the surface of NMs during synthesis or modification into their water soluble forms provide reactive sites for subsequent bioconjugation reactions. Linkers for these NMs have their unique qualities that provide different medical applications along with inherent disadvantages are presented in this chapter.