Quantifying thiol ligand density of self-assembled monolayers on gold nanoparticles by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry.

ABSTRACT: Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are often used as colloidal carriers in numerous applications owing to their low-cost and size-controlled preparation as well as their straightforward surface functionalization with thiol containing molecules forming self-assembling monolayers (SAM). The quantification of the ligand density of such modified GNPs is technically challenging, yet of utmost importance for quality control in many applications. In this contribution, a new method for the determination of the surface coverage of GNPs with thiol containing ligands is proposed. It makes use of the measurement of the gold-to-sulfur (Au/S) ratio by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and its dependence on the nanoparticle diameter. The simultaneous ICP-MS measurement of gold and sulfur was c

SUBMITTER: Hinterwirth H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3584655 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature