Ecofriendly Route To Synthesize Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications: Bioactive Polymers on Shape-Controlled Effects of Nanomaterials under Different Reaction Conditions

Bioactive diethylaminoethyl dextran chloride (DEAE-D), a versatile polymer with numerous industrial applications, was used as a shape-directing agent for the synthesis of gold (Au) nanoparticles (NPs) in a typical green chemistry synthetic route. Shape-controlled growth was precisely directed by the quaternary amine functionalities of DEAE-D, while its polycationic nature provided simultaneous colloidal stabilization. Mechanistic aspects were drawn from different sets of reactions in which DEAE-D was directly used as a reducing agent with respect to reaction time and temperature. All reactions were simultaneously monitored with UV visible studies, and NPs were characterized by TEM, SEM, and AFM analysis. Shape-controlled synthesis produced large extraordinarily thin microplates that were converted into small spherical NPs simply by switching the reaction to seed-growth (S-G) mode. DEAE-D-coated NPs thus produced were subjected to hemolysis for their possible use as drug release vehicles in systemic circulation so as to explore their possible biomedical applications.