The research area of synthetic materials is approaching a new era of multifunctional materials. Today we need materials with customizable functions, to be designed on demand, with a direct objective,  let’s say an intelligent design of functional materials. One area where such materials have great potential, not only for the economics but also for its social impact, is the their use in biotechnology and medicine.

These multifunctional nanostructured systems are reaching a great interest and development for use in diagnostics, molecular imaging and therapy, talking today even of Nanomedicine. It is expected that these devices have great utility in a variety of processes, for early identification of diseases, removal of tumors by hyperthermia, transport and release of drugs, and tissue regeneration.

The biofunctionalization of nanoparticles is not trivial because it involves several stages where it is essential that they remain stable. Since there is a wide variety of nanoparticles (magnetic, gold, quantum dots, polymer, etc.) and nanostructured materials (carbon nanotubes, etc.), very different in terms of size, surface area, density of reactive groups, colloidal stability, etc., there are no standard functionalization protocols, being necessary to optimize for each particular case. Another difficulty is that it must maintain the proper orientation of the biomolecules on the surface of these materials for their biological activity be conserved. Finally the functional groups on the surface of the NPs that are not used to anchor biomolecules must be masked (inerting the surface) to prevent nonspecific adsorption of proteins. An inadequate inerting process can affect the sensitivity limits achieved in nanodiagnosis. In turn, if NPs are to be injected intravenously, the nonspecific adsorption of plasma proteins means that they would be recognized by cells of the mononuclear phagocytic system and therefore eliminated from the bloodstream before they reached the therapeutic target for which were designed.

Nanoimmunotech is developing novel strategies for the functionalization of nanomaterials with biologically relevant biomolecules such as proteins, nucleic acids, and other small molecules. Nanoimmunotech has a vast experience and own protocols for the functionalization of antibodies and enzymes in an oriented way on the surface of different supports, guaranteeing the activity and stability of these proteins.