Synthesis of gold nanoparticles in a biocompatible fluid from sputtering deposition onto castor oil

The sputtering of Au targets onto castor oil generates stable spherical gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) of 2.4 to 3.8 nm. The AuNP size increases with the discharge voltage and the mechanism of nucleation and growth are related to the energy of the atoms/clusters ejected from the target.