Melanin-like polydopa amides – synthesis and application in functionalization of magnetic nanoparticles

Abstract

Polydopa amides are obtained by oxidative polymerization of amides of L-dopa. These products are analogues of naturally occurring melanins and of polydopamine. They can be used as shells for magnetic core shell nanoparticles. The materials are characterized by FTIR-spectroscopy, ¹³C ss-NMR spectroscopy, magnetic measurements, TEM and TGA. Comparison with the structures of melanins or polydopamine shows similarities, i.e. cyclized indole monomer units and non-cyclized dopa amide moieties. The majority of the amide groups is maintained during the oxidative polymerization. The functional groups linked to the amide N-atoms open a way of connecting functions to the organic shell that have interesting applicatory potential, e.g. in biomedicine.