One-Step Synthesis of Stable Colloidal Gold Nanoparticles Through Bioconjugation with Bovine Serum Albumin in Harsh Environments

Abstract

In saline solutions with NaCl concentrations less than that typical of blood plasma and bodily fluids, gold nanoparticles (GNPs) aggregate and precipitate because of GNP cation complexation with the Cl− anions in the solution. It is difficult to retain stable colloidal GNPs within any saline solution for a relatively long time without aggregation and precipitation. In this study, we developed a method to synthesize stable GNPs in harsh anion-containing environments. GNPs were formed by laser ablation in a saline solution, and their stabilization was achieved by adding bovine serum albumin (BSA) to the NaCl solution; this has been shown to be a quick, efficient approach to producing stable colloidal GNPs. GNP nanoclusters in saline solutions with and without BSA were observed via high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction. The results reveal that our methodology yields colloidal GNPs with long-term stability in a BSA-containing saline solution.