Patent ID: 8702988

Claim:
A method for covalently modifying an inorganic substrate, comprising the steps of: (a) equilibrating the inorganic substrate in an atmosphere having a defined relative humidity of less than 40% to provide a controlled amount of water on the surface of the inorganic substrate, thereby enhancing batch to batch reproducibility; (b) covalently modifying the inorganic substrate with at least one silane in the presence of an inert solvent; and (c) further covalently modifying the inorganic substrate with an endcapping silane, wherein the silane has the formula: R 1 δ -Q α -(CH 2 ) β SiR 2 γ X 3-γ , wherein R 1 is hydrogen, C 1 -C 100 substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbyl, cycloalkyl, heterocycloalkyl, aryl, or heteroaryl; wherein the substituents are selected from C 1 -C 12 hydrocarbyl, hydroxyl, alkoxy, halogen, amino, nitro, sulfo, and carbonyl; α is 0 or 1; β is 0-30; γ is 0, 1 or 2; δ is 0-3; R 2 is C 1 -C 100 substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbyl, cycloalkyl, heterocycloalkyl, aryl, or heteroaryl; wherein the substituents are selected from C 1 -C 12 hydrocarbyl, hydroxyl, alkoxy, halogen, amino, nitro, sulfo, and carbonyl; Q is independently selected from —NHC(O)—, —C(O)NH—, —OC(O)NH—, —NHC(O)O—, —NHC(O)NH—, —NCO, —CHOHCHOH—, —CH 2 OCHCH 2 O—, —(CH 2 CH 2 O) n —, —(CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 O) n —, —C(O)—, —C(O)O—, —OC(O)—, CH 3 C(O)CH 2 —, —S—, —SS—, —CHOH—, —O—, —SO—, —SO 2 —, —SO 3 —, —OSO 3 —, —SO 2 NH—, —SO 2 NMe-, —NH—, —NMe-, —NMe 2 + -, —N[(CH 2 ) n ] 2 + -, —CN, —NC, —CHOCH—, —NHC(NH)NH—, —NO 2 , —NO, —OPO 3 —, where n is 1-30; and X is a leaving group.