Biofunctional magnetic nanoparticles as a general agent to immobilize proteins contained in traditional Chinese medicines

Maghemite nanoparticles were synthesized by the coprecipitation method. Silica was coated to the maghemite nanoparticles and amino silane was modified to the surface of the silica magnetic nanoparticles. We use the biofunctional magnetic nanoparticles as a general agent to immobilize and separate the proteins in a broad range from different traditional Chinese medicines. The transmission electron microscopy results showed that the average diameter of the well-dispersed silica-coated nanoparticles was about 60 nm. The Fourier transform infrared spectrum indicated that the amino group had been successfully coupled to the surface of the maghemite particles. And the protein immobilization effect was characterized by the microplate reader. The characterization results proved that the synthesized functional magnetic nanoparticles could effectively immobilize and separate the proteins from traditional Chinese medicines.