Tuning of Size and Shape of the Gold Nanoparticles by Controlling the pH During Seed Mediated Growth

AbstractA significant area of research is biomedical applications of nanoparticles which involves efforts to control the physicochemical properties through simple and scalable processes. Gold nanoparticles have received considerable attention due to their unique properties that they exhibit based on their morphology. Gold nanospheres (AuNSs) and nanorods (AuNRs) were prepared with a seed-mediated method followed of polyethylene glycol (PEG)-coating. The seeds were prepared with 0.1 M cetyltrimethyl-ammonium bromide (CTAB), 0.005 M chloroauric acid (HAuCl4), and 0.01 M sodium borohydride (NaBH4) solution. Gold nanoparticles with spherical morphology was achieved by growth by aggregation at room temperature, while to achieve the rod morphology 0.1 M silver nitrate (AgNO3) and 0.1 M ascorbic acid solution were added. The gold nanoparticles obtained by the seed-mediated synthesis have spherical or rod shapes, depending on the experimental conditions, and a uniform particle size. Surface functionalization was developed using polyethylene glycol. Morphology, and size distribution of AuNPs were evaluated by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy. The average size of AuNSs, and AuNRs was 7.85nm and 7.96 x 31.47nm respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry was performed to corroborate the presence of PEG in the AuNPs surface. Additionally, suspensions of AuNSs and AuNRs were evaluated by UV-Vis spectroscopy. Gold nanoparticles were stored for several days at room temperature and it was observed that the colloidal stability increased once gold nanoparticles were coated with PEG due to the shield formed in the surface of the NPs and the increase in size which were 9.65±1.90 nm of diameter for AuNSs and for AuNRs were 29.03±5.88 and 8.39±1.02 nm for length and transverse axis, respectively.

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Size and Shape-Dependent Antimicrobial Activities of Silver and Gold Nanoparticles: A Model Study as Potential Fungicides

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules25112682 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 25 (11) ◽

pp. 2682 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Francis J. Osonga ◽

Ali Akgul ◽

Idris Yazgan ◽

Ayfer Akgul ◽

Gaddi B. Eshun ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gold Nanoparticles ◽

Pathogenic Fungi ◽

Antimicrobial Activities ◽

Plant Diseases ◽

Production Plant ◽

Silver And Gold Nanoparticles ◽

Size And Shape ◽

Model Study ◽

Pathogenic Microbes ◽

Bacteria And Fungi

Plant-based pathogenic microbes hinder the yield and quality of food production. Plant diseases have caused an increase in food costs due to crop destruction. There is a need to develop novel methods that can target and mitigate pathogenic microbes. This study focuses on investigating the effects of luteolin tetraphosphate derived silver nanoparticles (LTP-AgNPs) and gold nanoparticles (LTP-AuNPs) as a therapeutic agent on the growth and expression of plant-based bacteria and fungi. In this study, the silver and gold nanoparticles were synthesized at room temperature using luteolin tetraphosphate (LTP) as the reducing and capping agents. The synthesis of LTP-AgNPs and LTP-AuNP was characterized by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and size distribution. The TEM images of both LTP-AgNPs and LTP-AuNPs showed different sizes and shapes (spherical, quasi-spherical, and cuboidal). The antimicrobial test was conducted using fungi: Aspergillus nidulans, Trichaptum biforme, Penicillium italicum, Fusarium oxysporum, and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, while the class of bacteria employed include Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aeromonas hydrophila, Escherichia coli, and Citrobacter freundii as Gram (−) bacteria, and Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus epidermidis as Gram (+) bacterium. The antifungal study demonstrated the selective size and shape-dependent capabilities in which smaller sized spherical (9 nm) and quasi-spherical (21 nm) AgNPs exhibited 100% inhibition of the tested fungi and bacteria. The LTP-AgNPs exhibited a higher antimicrobial activity than LTP-AuNPs. We have demonstrated that smaller sized AgNPs showed excellent inhibition of A. nidulans growth compared to the larger size nanoparticles. These results suggest that LTP-AuNP and LTP-AgNPs could be used to address the detection and remediation of pathogenic fungi, respectively.

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