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JRC scientists develop a procedure for efficient separation and characterisation of gold nanoparticles
Created by assoceditor on 15/07/2011 14:07:42


Scientists working within the EC JRC-IHCP have developed a procedure for the efficient separation, size determination, chemical characterisation and particle number quantification of complex gold nanoparticle mixtures.


The use of nanomaterials is constantly increasing in all industrial sectors, in particular in biomedicine with applications in diagnostics and therapeutics. Gold nanoparticles already have several applications in biology and medicine; they are also used in consumer products such as cosmetics.

The effects of nanoscale objects on biological systems and their potential toxicity are currently the focus of widespread investigations. Since size, composition and surface chemistry of nanoparticles play an important role, the fractionation and characterisation of mixtures of nanoparticles is a key requirement for the assessment of their properties in toxicology testing or for their identification and size determination in consumer products.

In a paper published this month, scientists working within the European Commission Joint Research Centre, Institute for Health and Consumer Protection (JRC-IHCP) developed a procedure for the efficient separation, size determination, chemical characterisation and quantification of the relative number of particles of different size starting from complex gold nanoparticle (AuNP) mixtures.

The authors show that using two state-of-the-art techniques - asymmetric flow-field-flow fractionation (AF4) and high sensitive UV-Vis detection - it is possible to separate, characterise, and quantify the correct number size distribution of gold nanoparticle mixtures of various sizes in the 5-60 nm range. The size of the collected nanoparticles fractions can be determined both in solution and in the solid state, and their surface chemistry characterised by Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). In this context, the standard approach based on dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements - a technique widely used since the 1970s but whose accuracy is limited - gave misleading information.

The authors conclude that the use of AF4 technique will find widespread applications in two scenarios: i) for the preparation of NP samples with narrow particles distributions (in the process of "size purification" after the synthesis of AuNP) and, ii) for the identification and characterisation of gold-based nanomaterials in consumer products. This latter scenario is made all the more urgent by the continuous increase in the use of nanoparticles in several consumer products and the recent introduction in the EU legislation of labelling requirements for the presence of nanomaterials in cosmetics.

The full text article can be access through Elsevier.

Source : JRC-IHCP


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