11-Mercaptoundecanoic acid

Chemical Properties

White to light yellow solid

Uses

MUA as a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) is used as a microfluidic integrated surface plasmon resonance (SPR) for detection and quantification of bacteria in medical diagnostics. It is also used to bio-functionalize the screen printed gold electrodes (SPGEs) that are used for the detection and quantification of dengue. It also forms monolayers on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) attached via thiol groups. MUA incorporated AuNPs exhibit excellent fluorescence properties which may be used for metal ion detection in serum samples.

Uses

MUA is used for the carboxylic acid functionalization of 1-dodecanethiol-protected gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) by Murray place-displacement reaction generally utilized in biomedical applications. It can also be used to modify the surface of platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) by creating a ligand nano-assembly with a high surface coverage for use in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). A single cell biochip platform can be developed utilizing a cell attachment technique with MUA forming a SAM that was attached to single cells. MUA may be used to prepare a tetrafluorophenyl-activated ester self-assembled monolayer to immobilize amine-modified oligonucleotides and DNA. It is also used to create 3D-assembled gold nanostructures for plasmonic biosensors.

General Description

11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA) has long alkane chains and carboxyl containing thiols that are highly packed and form a self-assembled monolayer (SAM). It modifies the surface of nanoparticles to facilitate their dispersion into water and solvent based mediums.