Concentration Of AuNPs Research Articles

On the influence of increasing the concentration of Au144(SRCOO1-)60 nanoparticles in water/Na1+ solution using molecular dynamics simulations

We performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in order to evaluate the effects of increasing the concentration of functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNP), Au144(SC11H22COO1-)60 type, in water solution. Our results point to a formation of clusters in which each AuNP competes for regions with the others without reducing the average number of water molecules at the AuNP boundary. We also discuss how the direct interaction between the nanoparticle and the water molecules ends up being strengthened with the increase in the concentration of AuNPs, indicating an increase in the lifetime of the hydrogen bonds (HB) and in the limiting energy for the rupture of these HB between AuNP-water in the first solvation shell layer structure.

Biological Response of Human Cancer Cells to Ionizing Radiation in Combination with Gold Nanoparticles.

Simple SummaryVarious types of metallic nanoparticles and especially gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been utilized in radiation studies to enhance the radiosensitization of cancer cells while minimizing detrimental effects in normal tissue. The aim of our study was to investigate the biological responses of various human cancer cells to gold-nanoparticle-induced radiosensitization. This was accomplished by using different AuNPs and several techniques in order to provide valuable insights regarding the multiple adverse biological effects, following ionizing radiation (IR) in combination with AuNPs. Insightful methodologies such as transmission electron microscopy were employed to identify comprehensively the complexity of the biological damage occurrence. Our findings confirm that AuNP radiosensitization may occur due to extensive and/or complex DNA damage, cell death, or cellular senescence. This multiparameter study aims to further elucidate the biological mechanisms and at the same time provide new information regarding the use of AuNPs as radiosensitizers in cancer treatment.In the context of improving radiation therapy, high-atomic number (Z) metallic nanoparticles and, more importantly, gold-based nanostructures are developed as radiation enhancers/radiosensitizers. Due to the diversity of cell lines, nanoparticles, as well as radiation types or doses, the resulting biological effects may differ and remain obscure. In this multiparameter study, we aim to shed light on these effects and investigate them further by employing X-irradiation and three human cancer cell lines (PC3, A549, and U2OS cells) treated by multiple techniques. TEM experiments on PC3 cells showed that citrate-capped AuNPs were found to be located mostly in membranous structures/vesicles or autophagosomes, but also, in the case of PEG-capped AuNPs, inside the nucleus as well. The colony-forming capability of cancer cells radiosensitized by AuNPs decreased significantly and the DNA damage detected by cytogenetics, γH2AX immunostaining, and by single (γH2AX) or double (γH2AX and OGG1) immunolocalization via transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was in many cases higher and/or persistent after combination with AuNPs than upon individual exposure to ionizing radiation (IR). Moreover, different cell cycle distribution was evident in PC3 but not A549 cells after treatment with AuNPs and/or irradiation. Finally, cellular senescence was investigated by using a newly established staining procedure for lipofuscin, based on a Sudan Black-B analogue (GL13) which showed that based on the AuNPs’ concentration, an increased number of senescent cells might be observed after exposure to IR. Even though different cell lines or different types and concentrations of AuNPs may alter the levels of radiosensitization, our results imply that the complexity of damage might also be an important factor of AuNP-induced radiosensitization.

Study of the Morphological, Optical, and Thermal Properties of the Polymeric Blend CMC/PEG Reinforced by Various Concentrations of Au NPs

Study of the Morphological, Optical, and Thermal Properties of the Polymeric Blend CMC/PEG Reinforced by Various Concentrations of Au NPs

Controlled assembly of gold nanoparticles in resonant gold nanoapertures for SERS applications

The controlled assembly of plasmonic nanoparticles is vital for realizing low-cost, high efficiency plasmonic substrates with tunable resonances. Here, we present a strategy to assemble gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in resonant gold nanoapertures (NAs) to enable coupling-mediated near-field enhancement. The NAs templates are fabricated using shadow sphere lithography on polyelectrolyte (PE) coated substrates. Subsequently, AuNPs are assembled in the resonant NA templates via a simple immersion step. The PE layer, AuNP concentration, NaCl concentration, incubation time, and template thickness are used to control the particle number per aperture and the interparticle distance of the AuNP assemblies. The fabricated AuNP-NA substrates are evaluated for their SERS potential using 4-Mercaptobenzoic acid (MBA) as a Raman reporter molecule. The SERS intensity of the AuNP-NA templates can be enhanced by ten times by controlling the AuNP and NA template parameters as compared to the bare NA templates. Numerical simulations show that the coupling between the various plasmonic modes is crucial for this SERS enhancement. The proposed strategy can be used to fabricate hybrid AuNP-NA based SERS substrates with improved sensitivity.

A label-free technique to quantify and visualize gold nanoparticle accumulation at the single-cell level.

Despite their wide bioapplications, potential health risks of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) remain unclear. As a determinant of their risks, AuNP accumulation within a cell population is subject to cell-to-cell heterogeneity. Methods to simultaneously quantify and visualize intracellular AuNPs at the single-cell level are, however, lacking. Here we developed a novel label-free technique, based on hyperspectral imaging with enhanced darkfield microscopy (HSI-DFM), to visualize and quantify AuNP accumulation at the single-cell level. The identification ability of the hyperspectral libraries derived from extra- and intracellular AuNPs was compared. The spectral number in the libraries was optimized to maximize their identification ability while minimizing the identification time. In addition, a filtration method was established to merge spectral libraries from different cell lines based on their similarity. The intracellularly accumulated AuNPs as determined by HSI-DFM well correlated with those detected by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. This validation allowed us to calculate the intracellular concentration of AuNPs at the single-cell level and to monitor the accumulation kinetics of AuNPs in living cells. The label-free method developed herein can be applied to other types of AuNPs differing in their physicochemical properties as well as other NPs, as long as they are detectable by HSI-DFM.

Effects of gold nanoparticles on oxidative stress status in bladder cancer 5637 cells.

Nanomedicine has recently been known as an emerging research area with promising applications in cancer diagnosis and treatment. Aside from this, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), as one of the important components of nanomedicine, have attracted considerable attention due to their special physicochemical properties and lower toxicity than other nanoparticles. Despite the impressive advantages of AuNPs, it has not been yet determined whether oxidative stress contributes to the toxicity of AuNPs on bladder cancer. The aim of this study was to address this issue by conducting experiments in order to investigate the effects of 20 nm AuNPs on human bladder cancer 5637 cells. The viability of 5637 cells was evaluated upon 24 hour exposure to different concentrations of AuNPs (0- 50µg/ml) by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol, 2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. In order to evaluate oxidative stress status, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total oxidant status (TOS), malondialdehyde (MDA) and also activities of antioxidant enzymes including glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were all determined by colorimetric assay kits. The results from our experiment showed that the cytotoxicity caused by AuNPs was dose-dependent and the IC50 value was found to be 43.14µg/ml after 24-hour exposure. Furthermore, MDA and TOS levels were significantly increased in treated cells compared to untreated cells (p.

Plasmonic Surface of Metallic Gold and Silver Nanoparticles Induced Fluorescence Quenching of Meso-Terakis (4-Sulfonatophenyl) Porphyrin (TPPS) and Theoretical–Experimental Comparable

Colloidal metallic nanoparticles have attracted a lot of interest in the last two decades owing to their simple synthesis and fascinating optical properties. In this manuscript, a study of the effect of both gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) and silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) on the fluorescence emission (FE) of TPPS has been investigated utilizing steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy and UV–Vis spectrophotometry. From the observed electronic absorption spectra, there is no evidence of the ground state interaction between metallic Au NPs or Ag NPs with TPPS. On the other side, the FE spectra of TPPS have been quenched by both Ag and Au NPs. Via applying quenching calculations, Ag NPs showed only traditional static fluorescence quenching of TPPS with linear Stern–Volmer (SV) plots. On the contrary, quenching of TPPS emission by Au NPs shows composed models. One model is the sphere of action static quenching model that prevails at high quencher concentrations leading to non-linear SV plots with positive deviation. However, at low Au NPs concentrations, traditional dynamic quenching occurs with linear SV plots. The quantum calculations for TPPS structure have been obtained using Gaussian 09 software: in which the TPPS optimized molecular structure was achieved using DFT/B3LYP/6-311G (d) in a gaseous state. Also, the calculated electronic absorption spectra for the same molecule in water as a solvent are obtained using TD/M06/6-311G + + (2d, 2p). Furthermore, the theoretical and experimental results comparable to UV–Vis spectra have been investigated.

Dual-miRNA-Propelled Three-Dimensional DNA Walker for Highly Specific and Rapid Discrimination of Breast Cancer Cell Subtypes in Clinical Tissue Samples

Dual-miRNA-Propelled Three-Dimensional DNA Walker for Highly Specific and Rapid Discrimination of Breast Cancer Cell Subtypes in Clinical Tissue Samples

Biosynthesis, Characterization, Anticancer activity and Drug delivery of Gold Nanoparticles synthesised from local isolate of Proteus mirabilis

Intracellular metal nanoparticles are produced by a variety of bacteria. As aqueous gold reacts with the Proteus mirabilis, it grows resulting in the formation of gold nanoparticles. The use of microorganisms in nanoparticle synthesis is gaining traction as an environmentally sustainable and exciting gold recovery process. This study consist of biological synthesis of gold nanoparticles utilizing the culture supernatant of local bacteria. Proteus mirabilis isolates when treated with HAuCl₄ solution in 10⁻³ Mm, then AuNPs were characterized and examined for anticancer ability using MTT assay against MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines. The size of the gold nanoparticles was rather consistent 29.18-55.57nm. Anticancer behavior studies revealed that gold nanoparticles had an equivalent strong anticancer impact. On the MCF-7 cell line, the AuNP concentration of 400 g/ml showed the greatest decrease. In addition, the combination of 400 g/ml AuNPs + 20 μM cisplatin resulted in the greatest reduction in the MCF-7 cell line.

Methacrylate-Modified Gold Nanoparticles Enable Non-Invasive Monitoring of Photocrosslinked Hydrogel Scaffolds.

Photocrosslinked hydrogels, such as methacrylate-modified gelatin (gelMA) and hyaluronic acid (HAMA), are widely utilized as tissue engineering scaffolds and/or drug delivery vehicles, but lack a suitable means for non-invasive, longitudinal monitoring of surgical placement, biodegradation, and drug release. Therefore, we developed a novel photopolymerizable X-ray contrast agent, methacrylate-modified gold nanoparticles (AuMA NPs), to enable covalent-linking to methacrylate-modified hydrogels (gelMA and HAMA) in one-step during photocrosslinking and non-invasive monitoring by X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). Hydrogels exhibited a linear increase in X-ray attenuation with increased Au NP concentration to enable quantitative imaging by contrast-enhanced micro-CT. The enzymatic and hydrolytic degradation kinetics of gelMA-Au NP hydrogels were longitudinally monitored by micro-CT for up to one month in vitro, yielding results that were consistent with concurrent measurements by optical spectroscopy and gravimetric analysis. Importantly, AuMA NPs did not disrupt the hydrogel network, rheology, mechanical properties, and hydrolytic stability compared with gelMA alone. GelMA-Au NP hydrogels were thus able to be bioprinted into well-defined three-dimensional architectures supporting endothelial cell viability and growth. Overall, AuMA NPs enabled the preparation of both conventional photopolymerized hydrogels and bioprinted scaffolds with tunable X-ray contrast for noninvasive, longitudinal monitoring of placement, degradation, and NP release by micro-CT.

A method for the controllable fabrication of optical fiber-based localized surface plasmon resonance sensors

Optical fiber-based Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (OF-LSPR) biosensors have emerged as an ultra-sensitive miniaturized tool for a great variety of applications. Their fabrication by the chemical immobilization of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on the optic fiber end face is a simple and versatile method. However, it can render poor reproducibility given the number of parameters that influence the binding of the AuNPs. In order to develop a method to obtain OF-LSPR sensors with high reproducibility, we studied the effect that factors such as temperature, AuNPs concentration, fiber core size and time of immersion had on the number and aggregation of AuNPs on the surface of the fibers and their resonance signal. Our method consisted in controlling the deposition of a determined AuNPs density on the tip of the fiber by measuring its LSPR signal (or plasmonic signal, Sp) in real-time. Sensors created thus were used to measure changes in the refractive index of their surroundings and the results showed that, as the number of AuNPs on the probes increased, the changes in the Sp maximum values were ever lower but the wavelength shifts were higher. These results highlighted the relevance of controlling the relationship between the sensor composition and its performance.

Gold Nanoparticles as Effective ion Traps in Poly(dimethylsiloxane) Cross-Linked by Metal-Ligand Coordination.

At this time, the development of advanced elastic dielectric materials for use in organic devices, particularly in organic field-effect transistors, is of considerable interest to the scientific community. In the present work, flexible poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) specimens cross-linked by means of ZnCl2-bipyridine coordination with an addition of 0.001 wt. %, 0.0025 wt. %, 0.005 wt. %, 0.04 wt. %, 0.2 wt. %, and 0.4 wt. % of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were prepared in order to understand the effect of AuNPs on the electrical properties of the composite materials formed. The broadband dielectric spectroscopy measurements revealed one order of magnitude decrease in loss tangent, compared to the coordinated system, upon an introduction of 0.001 wt. % of AuNPs into the polymeric matrix. An introduction of AuNPs causes damping of conductivity within the low-temperature range investigated. These effects can be explained as a result of trapping the Cl− counter ions by the nanoparticles. The study has shown that even a very low concentration of AuNPs (0.001 wt. %) still brings about effective trapping of Cl− counter anions, therefore improving the dielectric properties of the investigated systems. The modification proposed reveals new perspectives for using AuNPs in polymers cross-linked by metal-ligand coordination systems.

Clinical Feasibility Study of Gold Nanoparticles as Theragnostic Agents for Precision Radiotherapy.

Background: Gold nanoparticles (AuNP) may be useful in precision radiotherapy and disease monitoring as theragnostic agents. In diagnostics, they can be detected by computerized tomography (CT) because of their higher atomic number. AuNP may also improve the treatment results in radiotherapy due to a higher cross-section, locally improving the physically absorbed dose. Methods: Key parameters values involved in the use of AuNP were imposed to be optimal in the clinical scenario. Mass concentration of AuNP as an efficient contrast agent in clinical CT was found and implemented in a Monte Carlo simulation method for dose calculation under different proposed therapeutic beams. The radiosensitization effect was determined in irradiated cells with AuNP. Results: an AuNP concentration was found for a proper contrast level and enhanced therapeutic effect under a beam typically used for image-guided therapy and monitoring. This lower energetic proposed beam showed potential use for treatment monitoring in addition to absorbed dose enhancement and higher radiosensitization at the cellular level. Conclusion: the results obtained show the use of AuNP concentration around 20 mg Au·mL−1 as an efficient tool for diagnosis, treatment planning, and monitoring treatment. Simultaneously, the delivered prescription dose provides a higher radiobiological effect on the cancer cell for achieving precision radiotherapy.

Enhanced Electrochemical Conductivity of Surface-Coated Gold Nanoparticles/Copper Nanowires onto Screen-Printed Gold Electrode

Electrochemical application has been widely used in the study of biosensors. Small biomolecules need a sensitive sensor, as the transducer that can relay the signal produced by biomolecule interactions. Therefore, we are improvising a sensor electrode to enhance electrochemical conductivity for the detection of small DNA molecule interaction. This work describes the enhanced electrochemical conductivity studies of copper nanowires/gold nanoparticles (CuNWs/AuNPs), using the screen-printed gold electrode (SPGE). The AuNPs were synthesized using the Turkevich method as well as characterized by the high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) analysis for the particle size and absorption nature, respectively. Further, the surface morphology and elemental analysis of a series of combinations of different ratios of CuNWs-AuNPs-modified SPGE were analyzed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) combined with an energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). The results indicate that the nanocomposites of CuNWs-AuNPs have been randomly distributed and compacted on the surface of SPGE, with AuNPs filling the pores of CuNWs, thereby enhancing its electrochemical conductivity. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) method was used for the evaluation of SPGE performance, while the characterization of the electrochemical conductivity of the electrode modified with various concentrations of AuNPs, CuNWs, and different volumes of dithiopropionic acid (DTPA) has been conducted. Of the various parameters tested, the SPGE modified with a mixture of 5 mg/mL CuNWs and 0.25 mM AuNPs exhibited an efficient electrochemical conductivity of 20.3 µA. The effective surface area for the CuNWs-AuNPs-modified SPGE was enhanced by 2.3-fold compared with the unmodified SPGE, thereby conforming the presence of a large active biomolecule interaction area and enhanced electrochemical activity on the electrode surface, thus make it promising for biosensor application.

Intracellular gold nanoparticles influence light scattering and facilitate amplified spontaneous emission generation

Generation of amplified stimulated emission inside mammalian cells has paved the way for a novel bioimaging and cell sensing approach. Single cells carrying gain media (e.g., fluorescent molecules) are placed inside an optical cavity, allowing the production of intracellular laser emission upon sufficient optical pumping. Here, we investigate the possibility to trigger another amplified emission phenomenon (i.e., amplified spontaneous emission or ASE) inside two different cell types, namely macrophage and epithelial cells from different species and tissues, in the presence of a poorly reflecting cavity. Furthermore, the resulting ASE properties can be enhanced by introducing plasmonic nanoparticles. The presence of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in rhodamine 6G-labeled A549 epithelial cells results in higher intensity and lowered ASE threshold in comparison to cells without nanoparticles, due to the effect of plasmonic field enhancement. An increase in intracellular concentration of AuNPs in rhodamine 6G-labeled macrophages is, however, responsible for the twofold increase in the ASE threshold and a reduction in the ASE intensity, dominantly due to a suppressed in and out-coupling of light at high nanoparticle concentrations.

Quantification of Nanoscale Dose Enhancement in Gold Nanoparticle-Aided External Photon Beam Radiotherapy.

Simple SummaryGold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have become common in radiation oncology research through the past decades. Their radiosensitization effect could offer a novel approach to cancer diagnosis and radiotherapy as well. The aim of this study is the assessment of dose enhancement attributed to the incubation of AuNPs in an irradiated target. The present work is focused on investigating the impact of AuNPs properties in dose increase under different irradiation conditions using 6 MV photon beams with and without a flattening filter via Monte Carlo simulations. Results from the simulated scenarios depict a sufficient dose raise especially at close distances to AuNPs, depending on the presence of a flattening filter in the path of the photon beam, AuNPs size, the type of modeled distribution and their concentration. Therefore, the obtained enhanced dose deposition due to AuNPs presence in an irradiated region could lead to more sufficient tumor cell destruction than irradiation alone.The recent progress in Nanotechnology has introduced Gold Nanoparticles (AuNPs) as promising radiosensitizing agents in radiation oncology. This work aims to estimate dose enhancement due to the presence of AuNPs inside an irradiated water region through Monte Carlo calculations. The GATE platform was used to simulate 6 MV photon histories generated from a TrueBeam® linear accelerator with and without a Flattening Filter (FF) and model AuNPs clusters. The AuNPs size, concentration and distribution pattern were examined. To investigate different clinical irradiation conditions, the effect of field size, presence of FF and placement of AuNPs in water were evaluated. The range of Dose Enhancement Factors (DEF = DoseAu/DoseWater) calculated in this study is 0.99 ± 0.01–1.26 ± 0.02 depending on photon beam quality, distance from AuNPs surface, AuNPs size and concentration and pattern of distribution. The highest DEF is reported for irradiation using un-flattened photon beams and at close distances from AuNPs. The obtained findings suggest that dose deposition could be increased in regions that represent whole cells or subcellular targets (mitochondria, cell nucleus, etc.). Nevertheless, further and consistent research is needed in order to make a step toward AuNP-aided radiotherapy in clinical practice.

Hydrogel assisted synthesis of gold nanoparticles with enhanced microbicidal and in vivo wound healing potential

The present study reports a hydrogel-based sunlight-assisted synthesis of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) with enhanced antimicrobial and wound healing potential. The hydrogel extracted from the seeds of Cydonia oblonga was used as a reducing and capping agent to synthesize Au NPs for the first time. The as-synthesized Au NPs were characterized for an average size, shape, surface functionalization, antimicrobial, and wound healing capabilities. The cubic and rectangular-shaped Au NPs with an average edge length of 74 ± 4.57 nm depicted a characteristic surface plasmon resonance band at 560 nm. The hydrogel-based Au NPs inhibited the growth of microorganisms in zones with 12 mm diameter. In-vitro experiments showed that a minimum inhibitory concentration of Au NPs (16 µg/mL) was sufficient to mimic the 95% growth of pathogenic microorganisms in 24 h. In vivo treatment of wounds with Au NPs in murine models revealed a 99% wound closure within 5 days. Quantitative PCR analysis performed to decipher the role of Au NPs in enhanced wound healing showed an increase in the expression levels of NANOG and CD-34 proteins.

Biosynthesis of Gold Nanoparticles by Vascular Cells in vitro.

Biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) for antimicrobial and chemotherapeutic applications is a well-established process in microbial hosts such as bacterial, fungi, and plants. However, reports on AuNPs biosynthesis in mammalian cells are scarce. In this study, bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) and bovine aortic smooth muscle cells (BASMCs) were examined for their ability to synthesize AuNPs in vitro. Cell culture conditions such as buffer selection, serum concentration, and HAuCl4 concentration were optimized before the biosynthesized AuNPs were characterized through visible spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. BAECs and BASMC produced small, spherical AuNPs that are semi-crystalline with a similar diameter (23 ± 2 nm and 23 ± 4 nm). Hydrogen peroxide pretreatment increased AuNPs synthesis, suggesting that antioxidant enzymes may reduce Au3+ ions as seen in microbial cells. However, buthionine sulfoximine inhibition of glutathione synthesis, a key regulator of oxidative stress, failed to affect AuNPs generation. Taken together, these results show that under the right synthesis conditions, non-tumor cell lines can produce detectable concentrations of AuNPs in vitro.

Sensing Enhancement of Gold Nanoparticles Doped-TiO<sub>2</sub> Thin Films as H<sub>2</sub>S Gas Sensor

Titanium dioxide and gold nanoparticles were synthesized using an environmentally friendly method to deposit undoped and Au-doped TiO2thin films on silicon and glass substrates via the spray pyrolysis technique. The effect of the Au nanoparticles concentrations on structural, morphological, and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas sensing characteristics of TiO2thin films were investigated. An X-ray diffraction pattern confirmed the polycrystalline structure of the films deposited on glass and Si substrates with a dominant rutile phase and the formation of additional mixed-phases of Ti-Au bonding. According to a Field Emission-Scanning Electron Microscopy investigation, the cluster size ranged from 20 to 180 nm depending on the concentration of AuNPs. The sensing response of the prepared films was tested against H2S at different operating temperatures. The effect of growing a mixture of titanium-gold phases as a suitable catalyst for hydrogen sulfide sensitivity is also discussed.

A Versatile Sensing Toolkit for Highly Sensitive Detection through the Electrical Conductivity of Gold Nanoparticles

AbstractDeveloping a versatile sensing toolkit with high sensitivity may revolutionize current techniques for analytical applications. This work reports a sensing strategy through the electrical conductivity of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). By modulating the concentration, aggregation, and surface ligand of AuNPs, a versatile analytical platform for highly sensitive detection based on the electrical conductivity is outlined. The difference in concentration, aggregation, and surface ligand enables a response in the conductivity of AuNPs, offering a great platform for developing AuNPs‐implemented assays using the conductivity as the signal readout. Compared with the plasmonic signal readout of AuNPs, this conductivity‐based sensing method has advantages in high sensitivity, low cost, and simple operation, showing great potential as a powerful technique for versatile applications.