Preparation of dopamine-modified boron nanoparticles

We developed a method to obtain water-dispersible boron nanoparticles (BNPs) as a potential boron delivery agent for cancer treatment. The 40 nm nanoparticles are prepared by mechanical milling in undecylenic acid followed by ligand exchange with dopamine. These particles can be rendered fluorescent by the attachment of a fluorophore to the primary amine of the dopamine, which could be used to locate the particles in a cell media. Dopamine-modified boron nanoparticles did not show signs of toxicity toward murine macrophage cells.