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Analysis of citrate-capped gold and silver nanoparticles by thiol ligand exchange capillary electrophoresis

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Abstract

We report on the capillary electrophoretic behavior of citrate-capped gold and silver nanoparticles in aqueous medium when applying a ligand-exchange surface reaction with thiols. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) of similar size (39 ± 6 and 41 ± 7 nm, respectively) and shape were synthesized, covered with a citrate shell, and characterized by microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. The analysis of these NPs by CE was accomplished by using a buffer solution (pH 9.7; 40 mM SDS, 10 mM CAPS; 0.1 % methanol) containing the anions of thioctic acid or thiomalic acid. These are capable of differently interacting with the surface of the AuNPs and AgNPs and thus introducing additional negative charges. This results in different migration times due to the formation of differently charged nanoparticles.

Capillary electrophoretic behavior of citrate-capped gold and silver nanoparticles (NPs) in aqueous medium when applying a ligand-exchange surface reaction with thiols (thioctic and thiomalic acids), which introduces additional negative charges, has been studied

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Spain’s Ministry of Innovation and Science for funding Project CTQ2011-23790 and Junta de Andalucía for Project FQM4801. A.I. López-Lorente also wishes to thank the Ministry for the award of a Research Training Fellowship (Grant AP2008-02939).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of Córdoba, 14071, Córdoba, Spain

    Ángela I. López-Lorente, M. Laura Soriano & Miguel Valcárcel

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  1. Ángela I. López-Lorente
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  2. M. Laura Soriano
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  3. Miguel Valcárcel
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Correspondence to Miguel Valcárcel.

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López-Lorente, Á.I., Soriano, M.L. & Valcárcel, M. Analysis of citrate-capped gold and silver nanoparticles by thiol ligand exchange capillary electrophoresis. Microchim Acta 181, 1789–1796 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-014-1218-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-014-1218-5

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