Studies of anionic dendrimer adsorption mechanism on the zirconium(IV) oxide surface - Electrokinetic and thermal properties of nanosized composites

The adsorbed amount of the third generation dendrimer containing carboxyl groups on the surface of zirconium(IV) nanooxide was determined using spectrophotometry. The effects of solution pH (in the range 3-9) and polymer concentration were examined. At the same beginning the metal nanooxide (textural parameters) and dendrimer (dissociation, hydrodynamic radius in the solution) were characterized using the following experimental techniques: low-temperature nitrogen adsorption-desorption, SEM, DLS, SLS and viscosimetry. Additionally, the impact of dendrimer adsorption on the electrokinetic properties of the ZrO2-polymer solution interface was studied. For this purpose the potentiometric titration and Doppler laser electrophoresis methods were applied. The thermal behaviour of ZrO2 unmodified and modified with the dendrimer layer was also examined, Based on the obtained results the most probable mechanism of dendrimer adsorption on the nanooxide surface was proposed. This can be of great importance in nanomedicine in the process of tissue reconstruction and implant coatings formation. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.