Hollow sea-urchin gold nanoparticles (HSU-GNPs) were successfully prepared through a novel one-step galvanic replacement strategy, and their corresponding optical properties was studied in detail. During the synthesis process, the sizes of the interior hollows of the HSU-GNPs could be changed by adjusting the amount of silver nitrate added into hydrogen tetrachloroaurate trihydrate solution. Th...

We report a study on chemiluminescence-based chemical analyses using luminol molecules covalently attached to 10 nm diameter gold nanoparticles (GNPs). Chemiluminescence (CL) has been systematically studied under two schemes by varying the concentrations of luminol-labeled GNPs and [Fe(CN)6](3-) catalyst, respectively. The CL signal of luminol-labeled GNPs is enhanced by 5 to 10 times compared ...

The high atomic number of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) enables them to offer potential as practical and efficient radiosensitizing agents for cancer radiotherapy applications. In the present study, it was demonstrated that GNPs can significantly modulate the irradiation response of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells in vitro and in vivo, of which the underlying mechanisms were investigated. Cetu...

Pharmacokinetics and bio-distribution are crucial factors affecting the performance of an intravenous drug. In this study, we explore the combined use of glucose and polyethylene glycol (PEG) ligands to further improve gold nanoparticle (GNP) pharmacokinetics and bio-distribution, with the aim of using the drug for in-vivo radiotherapy. The inclusion of PEG was found to significantly prolong th...

The interaction of an essential transport protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) and albumin-gold nanoconjugates (BSA-GNPs) with amino acid l-aspartic (ASP) are investigated by steady state and time resolved spectroscopic techniques. In both the cases, static fluorescence quenching is observed indicating that a ground state complex is formed between the donor BSA/BSA-GNP with the acceptor ASP. High...

The environmental impact of nanoparticles is evident; however, their toxicity due to their nanosize is rarely discussed. Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) may serve as a promising model to address the size-dependent biological response to nanoparticles because they show good biocompatibility and their size can be controlled with great precision during their chemical synthesis. Naked GNPs ranging from 3...

In the search for alternatives to conventional Pt electrocatalysts, we synthesized a series of graphene nanoplate (GNP)-supported Pt3Cu1 nanocrystals (NCs), possessing almost the same composition but different morphologies to probe their electrochemical properties as a function of morphology for the ethanol oxidation reaction. The morphology of the Pt3Cu1 catalysts could be systematically evolv...

The citrate reduction method for the synthesis of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) has known advantages but usually provides the products with low nanoparticle concentration and limits its application. Herein, we report a facile method to synthesize GNPs from concentrated chloroauric acid (2.5 mM) via adding sodium hydroxide and controlling the temperature. It was found that adding a proper amount of ...

This study investigated the effect of silane and surfactant treatments of graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs) on the mechanical and thermal properties of silicone rubber (SR) composites. GnPs were modified with aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES), vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMS), and Triton X-100, and then the pristine GnPs and functionalized GnPs were individually incorporated into the SR. Compared with...

Nanoparticles (NPs) can be used to overcome the side effects of poor distribution of anticancer drugs. Among other NPs, colloidal gold nanoparticles (GNPs) offer the possibility of transporting major quantities of drugs due to their large surface-to-volume ratio. This is while confining these anticancer drugs as closely as possible to their biological targets through passive and active targetin...