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Facile synthesis of gold–silver alloy nanoparticles for application in metal enhanced bioluminescence

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Abstract

In the present study we explored metal enhanced bioluminescence in luciferase enzymes for the first time. For this purpose a simple and reproducible one pot synthesis of gold–silver alloy nanoparticles was developed. By changing the molar ratio of tri-sodium citrate and silver nitrate we could synthesize spherical Au–Ag colloids of sizes ranging from 10 to 50 nm with a wide range of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peaks (450–550 nm). The optical tunability of the Au–Ag colloids enabled their effective use in enhancement of bioluminescence in a luminescent bacterium Photobacterium leiognathi and in luciferase enzyme systems from fireflies and bacteria. Enhancement of bioluminescence was 250% for bacterial cells, 95% for bacterial luciferase and 52% for firefly luciferase enzyme. The enhancement may be a result of energy transfer or plasmon induced enhancement. Such an increase can lead to higher sensitivity in detection of bioluminescent signals with potential applications in bio-analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fermentation Technology and Bioengineering Department, CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore o570020, Karnataka, India

    K. S. Abhijith, Richa Sharma, Rajeev Ranjan & M. S. Thakur

  2. Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India

    Richa Sharma & M. S. Thakur

Authors
  1. K. S. Abhijith
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  2. Richa Sharma
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  3. Rajeev Ranjan
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  4. M. S. Thakur
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. S. Thakur.

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Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c4pp00046c

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Abhijith, K.S., Sharma, R., Ranjan, R. et al. Facile synthesis of gold–silver alloy nanoparticles for application in metal enhanced bioluminescence. Photochem Photobiol Sci 13, 986–991 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1039/c4pp00046c

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