and reagents used were of analytical grade. Poly-
(PLL) hydrochloride (M.W. >12 000, cutoff by dialysis) was
purchased from PEPTIDE INSTITUTE. PEGylated, long-chain SPDP cross-linker
(PEG4-SPDP) and Alexa Fluor 430 NHS ester were obtained from Thermo
Fisher Scientific. Citrate-coated colloidal silver nanoparticles (AgNPs)
with a mean diameter of 80 nm were purchased from NanoComposix. Amino-functionalized
polystyrene (PS) nanospheres with a mean diameter of 100 nm were obtained
from Polysciences. Bissulfosuccinimidyl suberate (BS3) was supplied
by Dojindo. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was purchased from Fujifilm
Wako Pure Chemical Corp. Tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II)
chloride hexahydrate, cysteamine, and (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane
(APTES) were purchased from Tokyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd (TCI).