“Green” seed-mediated synthesis and morphology of Au nanoparticles using β-cyclodextrin

• Published in: Gold bulletin Vol. 49; no. 1-2; pp. 45 - 51
• Main Authors: Castiello, F. R., Romo-Herrera, J. M., Farías, M. H., Guerra, E. D., Contreras, O. E., Berhault, G., Kochkar, H., Fuentes, S., Alonso-Nuñez, G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.09.2016; World Gold Council
• Subjects: Biocompatibility; Catalysis; Chemical Sciences; Chemistry and Materials Science; Environment and Society; Environmental Sciences; Gold; Materials Science; Metallic Materials; Morphology; Nanoparticles; Nanostructure; Original Paper; Raman scattering; Synthesis; Transmission electron microscopy; Nanostructures; Raman spectroscopy; TEM; Optical properties
• ISSN: 2364-821X; 0017-1557; 2190-7579
• DOI: 10.1007/s13404-016-0181-9

Gold nanoparticles (NPs) with dendritic morphology were synthesized by a “green” seed-mediated approach in the presence of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) as stabilizing biocompatible capping agent. First, 50 mL of an aqueous solution containing 5 mM of β-CD were prepared, to which a variable amount of HAuCl 4 was added. The β-CD/Au molar ratio was monitored from 20 to 200. Optical properties, including Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) activity, of the synthesized structures were characterized by Raman and UV-vis spectroscopies. Morphology was studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Samples prepared using this procedure presents an increase of their SERS signal with respect to samples without peak-rich morphology. Optimized nanodendrites were obtained at a β-CD/Au molar ratio of 100. Moreover, a growth mechanism is proposed to describe the β-cyclodextrin role in the synthesis of Au nanodendrites. The “green” seed-mediated synthesis technique used herein produces Au NPs with good biocompatibility pointing them out for biomedical applications.