11-Mercaptoundecanoic acid

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.

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.