Co-Assembly of Zwitterionic Surfactant-Like Peptides With Fatty Acids at the Solid–Liquid Interface of Magnetic Nanoparticles Improves Their Water Dispersibility, Morphology, and Size Distribution

Co-Assembly of Zwitterionic Surfactant-Like Peptides With Fatty Acids at the Solid–Liquid Interface of Magnetic Nanoparticles Improves Their Water Dispersibility, Morphology, and Size Distribution Publisher

Ferdosian M¹ ; Madaah Hosseini HR³ ; Firoozpour L⁴ ; Shokrgozar MA¹ ; Mohajel N²

Show Affiliations

1. Department of National Cell Bank, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, 1316943551, Iran
2. Department of Molecular Virology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, 1316943551, Iran
3. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
4. Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, and Drug Design & Development Research Center, The Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (TIPS), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 1417614411, Iran

Source: Chemical Papers Published:2025

Abstract

The potential of Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) can only be fully realized when highly stable water-dispersible particles with narrow particle size distribution and uniform morphology are produced in a simple sustainable and scalable process. Fatty acids have been successfully utilized as surfactants in the coprecipitation process to produce hydrophobic Fe3O4 NPs with desirable properties, which need additional processing to render them hydrophilic. In this study, an innovative single-step process was introduced for coating Fe3O4 NPs using two surfactant-like peptides, AC-A6K± and NH2-A6K± (±; refers to the coexisting positive and negative charge at the C-terminal of the peptides). This simplified process involves a single-step co-assembly of these peptides with aliphatic chains of palmitic acid (PA) at the surface of the Fe3O4 NPs. The impact of these modifications on the physicochemical properties of Fe3O4 NPs was thoroughly investigated, revealing that the peptide-coated particles exhibited enhanced dispersibility in aqueous environments, a more uniform morphology, nearly neutral zeta potential, and reduced aggregation, resulting in smaller and more uniform particles, when compared to lipid-stabilized NPs (Fe3O4PA). Furthermore, the Fe3O4PA NPs that were coated with AC-A6K± peptide (Fe3O4PA/AC−A6K±) demonstrated superior coating efficiency and a more favorable particle size distribution than those coated with A6K± (Fe3O4PA/A6K±). Notably, the crystal structure and magnetic saturation of the Fe3O4PA NPs were preserved even after being assembled with AC-A6K± peptide. Our observations suggest that coating fatty acid-stabilized Fe3O4 NPs with surfactant-like peptides by a one-step co-assembly process is feasible and can produce magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) with potential clinical application. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to the Institute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences 2024.

Style	Citing Format
MLA	Ferdosian M, et al.. "Co-Assembly of Zwitterionic Surfactant-Like Peptides With Fatty Acids at the Solid–Liquid Interface of Magnetic Nanoparticles Improves Their Water Dispersibility, Morphology, and Size Distribution." Chemical Papers, vol. 79, no. 2, 2025, pp. 847-857.
APA	Ferdosian M, Madaah Hosseini HR, Firoozpour L, Shokrgozar MA, Mohajel N (2025). Co-Assembly of Zwitterionic Surfactant-Like Peptides With Fatty Acids at the Solid–Liquid Interface of Magnetic Nanoparticles Improves Their Water Dispersibility, Morphology, and Size Distribution. Chemical Papers, 79(2), 847-857.
Chicago	Ferdosian M, Madaah Hosseini HR, Firoozpour L, Shokrgozar MA, Mohajel N. "Co-Assembly of Zwitterionic Surfactant-Like Peptides With Fatty Acids at the Solid–Liquid Interface of Magnetic Nanoparticles Improves Their Water Dispersibility, Morphology, and Size Distribution." Chemical Papers 79, no. 2 (2025): 847-857.
Harvard	Ferdosian M et al. (2025) 'Co-Assembly of Zwitterionic Surfactant-Like Peptides With Fatty Acids at the Solid–Liquid Interface of Magnetic Nanoparticles Improves Their Water Dispersibility, Morphology, and Size Distribution', Chemical Papers, 79(2), pp. 847-857.
Vancouver	Ferdosian M, Madaah Hosseini HR, Firoozpour L, Shokrgozar MA, Mohajel N. Co-Assembly of Zwitterionic Surfactant-Like Peptides With Fatty Acids at the Solid–Liquid Interface of Magnetic Nanoparticles Improves Their Water Dispersibility, Morphology, and Size Distribution. Chemical Papers. 2025;79(2):847-857.
BibTex	@article{ author = {Ferdosian M and Madaah Hosseini HR and Firoozpour L and Shokrgozar MA and Mohajel N}, title = {Co-Assembly of Zwitterionic Surfactant-Like Peptides With Fatty Acids at the Solid–Liquid Interface of Magnetic Nanoparticles Improves Their Water Dispersibility, Morphology, and Size Distribution}, journal = {Chemical Papers}, volume = {79}, number = {2}, pages = {847-857}, year = {2025} }
RIS	TY - JOUR AU - Ferdosian M AU - Madaah Hosseini HR AU - Firoozpour L AU - Shokrgozar MA AU - Mohajel N TI - Co-Assembly of Zwitterionic Surfactant-Like Peptides With Fatty Acids at the Solid–Liquid Interface of Magnetic Nanoparticles Improves Their Water Dispersibility, Morphology, and Size Distribution JO - Chemical Papers VL - 79 IS - 2 SP - 847 EP - 857 PY - 2025 ER -

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