(726e) Interfacial Adsorption of Janus Nanoparticles Onto Hairy Vesicles

We design sterically stable biocompatible vehicles through the self-assembly of a binary mixture composed of amphiphilic molecular species, such as PEGylated lipids, and phospholipids. We use a molecular dynamics-based mesoscopic simulation technique called dissipative particle dynamics to investigate the adsorption kinetics of Janus nanoparticles onto the PEGylated vesicles. We examine the relation between the relative concentration and size of PEG chains, and the adsorption kinetics of the nanoparticles. We demonstrate the number of nanoparticles adsorbed onto the vesicle surface can be effectively reduced and adsorption dynamics of nanoparticles can be slowed down by increasing the concentration of PEG chains as well as using PEG chains with a thickness larger than nanoparticles. We also study the behavior of nanoparticles adsorbed on the vesicle surface by conducting the residence time measurements, and our results demonstrate the nanoparticles to scan whole vesicle surface instead of burying themselves into a specific region, and the lateral diffusion of nanoparticles to be obstructed by the presence of PEGylated phospholid molecules. Results from our investigations can be used for the design and prediction of novel hybrid soft materials for applications in the encapsulation and delivery of therapeutic agents.