SYNTHESIS OF NANOCOMPOSITES BY LASER ABLATION

• Main Author: MUTISYA, STEPHEN
• Format: Others
• Published: VCU Scholars Compass 2011
• Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics; Physics
• Online Access: http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/231; http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1230&context=etd

Immunoglobulin E (IgE)-conjugated gold nanoparticles were produced via in situ conjugation of gold nanoparticles with immunoglobulin E by laser ablation of Au in a liquid solution. The colloidal stability and the size distribution of the resulting bio-nanoconjugates were examined with UV-Visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). These techniques showed that the Au nanoparticles in aqueous solutions were highly monodispersed spherical particles with a very narrow size distribution. The particles net diameter using TEM, was found to be D5 =3.8±0.9nm and D10 =4.7±1.3nm while the hydrodynamic diameter obtained with DLS was found to be h5 D =171±12nm , h10 D =164±18nm for 5min and 10min laser ablation time respectively. Enzyme-Linked immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and flow cytometry measurements of the conjugates confirmed that the gold-bound protein remained biologically active, thus paving the way for the application of these nanoparticles in immuno-diagnostics, particularly in tumor-targeted drug delivery.