Thesis

Development of gold supraparticles for nanomedicine applications

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Awarding institution
  • University of Strathclyde
Date of award
  • 2018
Thesis identifier
  • T15137
Person Identifier (Local)
  • 201479819
Qualification Level
Qualification Name
Department, School or Faculty
Abstract
  • Gold nanoparticles are widely used in bionanotechnology due to their unique optical properties and ease of surface modification with biomolecules. By assembling these gold nanoparticles into ordered structures their physiochemical properties can be fine-tuned. Gold nanoparticle assemblies have shown a remarkable increase in surface enhanced Raman signals (SERS) which can be further used for biological sensing applications. In addition, their efficient conversion of light to heat energy allows them to be promising candidates for photothermal therapies. A new method for assembling citrate capped gold nanoparticles into crystallographically aligned supraparticles is reported. These are biocompatible and have a strong SERS response. Additionally, these have been shown to convert light to heat more efficiently than their nanoparticle building blocks. Furthermore, gold nanoparticles were assembled onto a superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPION) core. These anisotropic assemblies called suprashells have a plasmon band in the near-infrared (NIR) region which makes them suitable candidates for biological applications. They also make efficient thermal transducers and promising SERS substrates due to the enhancement of signal. Finally, self-assembled structures of monomer fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl (Fmoc) protected amino acids are used as potential templates for gold nanoparticle assemblies. Each Fmoc-amino acid assembles into its own unique structure depending on the intrinsic property of its side chain. These soft templates are used to guide the assembly of gold nanoparticles. It has been found that there is a symbiotic relationship between the gold nanoparticle and amino acid side chain which can dictate the final degree of order.
Advisor / supervisor
  • Graham, Duncan (Professor of Chemistry)
Resource Type
DOI
Date Created
  • 2018
Former identifier
  • 9912679993402996

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