Characterization of crystalline dendrimer-stabilized gold nanoparticles

Monodispersed, highly crystalline dendrimer-stabilized gold nanoparticles (Au DSNPs) were synthesized via hydrazine reduction chemistry and stabilized using primary amine-terminated poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers of different generations (generations 2-6) with the same molar ratios of dendrimer terminal nitrogen ligands/gold atoms. The sizes of the synthesized Au DSNPs decrease with the increase of the number of dendrimer generations. These Au DSNPs are fluorescent and display strong blue emission intensity at 458 nm. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) analysis indicates that all Au DSNPs are stable and both metal NPs and dendrimer stabilizers do not separate from each other during the electrophoresis process. The synthesized inorganic/organic hybrid Au DSNPs provide new nanoplatforms that will be further modified with various biological ligands for the application of biosensing and targeted cancer therapeutics.