Although gold is the subject of one of the most ancient themes of investigation in science, its renaissance now leads to an exponentially increasing number of publications, especially in the context of emerging nanoscience and nanotechnology with nanoparticles and self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). We will limit the present review to gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), also called gold colloids. AuNPs are the most stable metal nanoparticles, and they present fascinating aspects such as their assembly of multiple types involving materials science, the behavior of the individual particles, size-related electronic, magnetic and optical properties (quantum size effect), and their applications to catalysis and biology. Their promises are in these fields as well as in the bottom-up approach of nanotechnology, and they will be key materials and building block in the 21st century. Whereas the extraction of gold started in the 5th millennium B.C. near Varna (Bulgaria) and reached 10 tons per year in Egypt around 1200-1300 B.C. when the marvelous statue of Touthankamon was constructed, it is probable that “soluble” gold appeared around the 5th or 4th century B.C. in Egypt and China. In antiquity, materials were used in an ecological sense for both aesthetic and curative purposes. Colloidal gold was used to make ruby glass 293 Chem. Rev. 2004, 104, 293−346

Gold nanoparticles: assembly, supramolecular chemistry, quantum-size-related properties, and applications toward biology, catalysis, and nanotechnology.

Detection of chemical and biological agents plays a fundamental role in biomedical, forensic and environmental sciences1–4 as well as in anti bioterrorism applications.5–7 The development of highly sensitive, cost effective, miniature sensors is therefore in high demand which requires advanced technology coupled with fundamental knowledge in chemistry, biology and material sciences.8–13

In general, sensors feature two functional components: a recognition element to provide selective/specific binding with the target analytes and a transducer component for signaling the binding event. An efficient sensor relies heavily on these two essential components for the recognition process in terms of response time, signal to noise (S/N) ratio, selectivity and limits of detection (LOD).14,15 Therefore, designing sensors with higher efficacy depends on the development of novel materials to improve both the recognition and transduction processes. Nanomaterials feature unique physicochemical properties that can be of great utility in creating new recognition and transduction processes for chemical and biological sensors15–27 as well as improving the S/N ratio by miniaturization of the sensor elements.28

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) possess distinct physical and chemical attributes that make them excellent scaffolds for the fabrication of novel chemical and biological sensors (Figure 1).29–36 First, AuNPs can be synthesized in a straightforward manner and can be made highly stable. Second, they possess unique optoelectronic properties. Third, they provide high surface-to-volume ratio with excellent biocompatibility using appropriate ligands.30 Fourth, these properties of AuNPs can be readily tuned varying their size, shape and the surrounding chemical environment. For example, the binding event between recognition element and the analyte can alter physicochemical properties of transducer AuNPs, such as plasmon resonance absorption, conductivity, redox behavior, etc. that in turn can generate a detectable response signal. Finally, AuNPs offer a suitable platform for multi-functionalization with a wide range of organic or biological ligands for the selective binding and detection of small molecules and biological targets.30–32,36 Each of these attributes of AuNPs has allowed researchers to develop novel sensing strategies with improved sensitivity, stability and selectivity. In the last decade of research, the advent of AuNP as a sensory element provided us a broad spectrum of innovative approaches for the detection of metal ions, small molecules, proteins, nucleic acids, malignant cells, etc. in a rapid and efficient manner.37



Figure 1

Physical properties of AuNPs and schematic illustration of an AuNP-based detection system.



In this current review, we have highlighted the several synthetic routes and properties of AuNPs that make them excellent probes for different sensing strategies. Furthermore, we will discuss various sensing strategies and major advances in the last two decades of research utilizing AuNPs in the detection of variety of target analytes including metal ions, organic molecules, proteins, nucleic acids, and microorganisms.

/pdf/gold-nanoparticles-in-chemical-and-biological-sensing-5e2qojkdzn.pdf

Gold nanoparticles in chemical and biological sensing.

There have been major advances in the design and fabrication of structured delivery systems for the encapsulation of nutraceutical and functional food components. A wide variety of delivery systems is now available, each with its own advantages and disadvantages for particular applications. This review begins by discussing some of the major nutraceutical and functional food components that need to be delivered and highlights the main limitations to their current utilization within the food industry. It then discusses the principles underpinning the rational design of structured delivery systems: the structural characteristics of the building blocks; the nature of the forces holding these building blocks together; and, the different ways of assembling these building blocks into structured delivery systems. Finally, we review the major types of structured delivery systems that are currently available to food scientists: lipid-based (simple, multiple, multilayer, and solid lipid particle emulsions); surfactant-based (simple micelles, mixed micelles, vesicles, and microemulsions) and biopolymer-based (soluble complexes, coacervates, hydrogel droplets, and particles). For each type of delivery system we describe its preparation, properties, advantages, and limitations.

Structural design principles for delivery of bioactive components in nutraceuticals and functional foods.

The platinum-based anticancer drugs cisplatin, carboplatin, and oxaliplatin are an important component of chemotherapy but are limited by severe dose-limiting side effects and the ability of tumors to develop resistance rapidly. These drugs can be improved through the use of drug-delivery vehicles that are able to target cancers passively or actively. In this study, we have tethered the active component of the anticancer drug oxaliplatin to a gold nanoparticle for improved drug delivery. Naked gold nanoparticles were functionalized with a thiolated poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) monolayer capped with a carboxylate group. [Pt(1R,2R-diaminocyclohexane)(H(2)O)(2)]2NO(3) was added to the PEG surface to yield a supramolecular complex with 280 (+/-20) drug molecules per nanoparticle. The platinum-tethered nanoparticles were examined for cytotoxicity, drug uptake, and localization in the A549 lung epithelial cancer cell line and the colon cancer cell lines HCT116, HCT15, HT29, and RKO. The platinum-tethered nanoparticles demonstrated as good as, or significantly better, cytotoxicity than oxaliplatin alone in all of the cell lines and an unusual ability to penetrate the nucleus in the lung cancer cells.

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ja908117a

Gold Nanoparticles for the Improved Anticancer Drug Delivery of the Active Component of Oxaliplatin

Nanoparticles are the focus of much attention due to their astonishing properties and numerous possibilities for applications in nanotechnology. For realising versatile functions, assembly of nanoparticles in regular patterns on surfaces and at interfaces is required. Assembling nanoparticles generates new nanostructures, which have unforeseen collective, intrinsic physical properties. These properties can be exploited for multipurpose applications in nanoelectronics, spintronics, sensors, etc. This review surveys different techniques, currently employed and being developed, for assembling nanoparticles in to ordered nanostructures. In this endeavour, the principles and methods involved in the development of assemblies are discussed. Subsequently, different possibilities of nanoparticle-based nanostructures, obtained in multi-dimensions, are presented.

Self‐Assembling Nanoparticles at Surfaces and Interfaces

Hydroxylamine-seeding of colloidal gold particles has been used to fabricate gold nanostructures on a SiO2 substrate. Gold nanoparticles (15 nm diameter) were randomly deposited on a SiO2 surface that had been modified with aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTS). The nanoparticles were then manipulated using a scanning force microscope (SFM) tip to produce 1-D templates for gold deposition. We demonstrate the utility of this approach by fabricating a gold nanowire by using 13 nanoparticles as a template. The junction between joined (coated) particles was examined by mechanical manipulation, and homogeneous deposition was shown to form stable structures. This approach was also used to fabricate nanostructures in a small gap between two gold electrodes. Particles were pushed into the gap, and then gold deposition was used to “connect” the particles and electrodes. Although the particular structure tested was not electrically connected to the electrode, we suggest that this approach will be useful in tackling th...

Fabrication of Nanostructures by Hydroxylamine Seeding of Gold Nanoparticle Templates

Manipulation of nanoparticles with the scanning force microscope (SFM) has been limited until now to clearing areas on a surface or to moving single particles sequentially to create two-dimensional patterns. The research reported here uses a previously described setup for nanomanipulation with the SFM to (i) build a simple three-dimensional pyramidal structure by pushing a nanoparticle on top of two others and (ii) rotate and translate a linked two-particle structure. The experiments are conducted in air and at room temperature with gold nanoparticles deposited on silicon previously coated with a silane layer.

Building and Manipulating Three-Dimensional and Linked Two-Dimensional Structures of Nanoparticles Using Scanning Force Microscopy

Gold nanoparticles were immobilized on silicon dioxide (SiO2) surfaces by embedding them in a layer of octadecylsiloxane (ODS) and also in SiO2 layers created by deposition and oxidation of ODS layers. The ODS and the SiO2 layers form selectively around the nanoparticles. Analysis of the particles after several deposition/oxidation cycles showed a decrease in measured height in accordance with the number of deposited layers. Following one embedding cycle, the nanoparticles could not be moved with the tip of a scanning force microscope operated in dynamic mode, whereas they moved in a controlled fashion prior to the deposition of any layer. Depositing a second set of particles onto an ODS layer in contact with the substrate allowed us to construct a two-particle column by placing one particle directly on top of another one.

and Aristides A. G. Requicha

Papers

Fabrication of Nanostructures by Hydroxylamine Seeding of Gold Nanoparticle Templates

Building and Manipulating Three-Dimensional and Linked Two-Dimensional Structures of Nanoparticles Using Scanning Force Microscopy

Immobilizing Au Nanoparticles on SiO2 Surfaces Using Octadecylsiloxane Monolayers