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Control of size and aspect ratio in hydroquinone-based synthesis of gold nanorods

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Abstract

In this article, we describe how it is possible to tune the size and the aspect ratio of gold nanorods obtained using a highly efficient protocol based on the use of hydroquinone as a reducing agent by varying the amounts of CTAB and silver ions present in the “seed-growth” solution. Our approach not only allows us to prepare nanorods with a four times increased Au3+ reduction yield, when compared with the commonly used protocol based on ascorbic acid, but also allows a remarkable reduction of 50–60 % of the amount of CTAB needed. In fact, according to our findings, the concentration of CTAB present in the seed-growth solution do not linearly influence the final aspect ratio of the obtained nanorods, and an optimal concentration range between 30 and 50 mM has been identified as the one that is able to generate particles with more elongated shapes. On the optimized protocol, the effect of the concentration of Ag+ ions in the seed-growth solution and the stability of the obtained particles has also been investigated.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this research was provided by Fondazione Cariplo (International Recruitment Call 2011, Project title: “An innovative, nanostructured biosensor for early diagnosis and minimal residual disease assessment of cancer, using Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy”) and by the Italian Ministry of Health under the frame of EuroNanoMed II (European Innovative Research & Technological Development Projects in Nanomedicine, project title: “InNaSERSS”). DP was partly supported by the Regional Foundation for Biomedical Research, Lombardia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Nanomedicine and Clinical Biophotonics (LABION), Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, Via Capecelatro 66, 20148, Milan, Italy

    Carlo Morasso, Silvia Picciolini, Domitilla Schiumarini, Renzo Vanna, Marzia Bedoni & Furio Gramatica

  2. Institute for Health and Consumer Protection (IHCP), European Commission Joint Research Centre, 21027, Ispra, VA, Italy

    Dora Mehn & Isaac Ojea-Jiménez

  3. Dipartimento di Biotecnologie Mediche e Medicina Traslazionale, Universitá degli Studi di Milano, via F.lli Cervi 93, 20090, Segrate, Italy

    Giuliano Zanchetta

  4. NanoBioLab, Dipartimento di Biotecnologie e Bioscienze, Università degli Studi di Milano Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126, Milan, Italy

    Davide Prosperi

Authors
  1. Carlo Morasso
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  2. Silvia Picciolini
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  3. Domitilla Schiumarini
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  4. Dora Mehn
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  5. Isaac Ojea-Jiménez
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  6. Giuliano Zanchetta
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  7. Renzo Vanna
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  8. Marzia Bedoni
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  9. Davide Prosperi
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  10. Furio Gramatica
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Correspondence to Carlo Morasso.

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Morasso, C., Picciolini, S., Schiumarini, D. et al. Control of size and aspect ratio in hydroquinone-based synthesis of gold nanorods. J Nanopart Res 17, 330 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-015-3136-9

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