A nanometer (nm) is one billionth of a meter (10-9) and represents the collection of few molecules or atoms. At this scale (1-100 nm), the properties of materials become dependent on their size and shape and differ from their bulk or individual states. These deviations in behavior observed at the nanoscale are due to electron or quantum confinement, surface to volume ratios, and unique interfaces not present as size increases for a given material. The properties can be tuned by the size of a given structure and not the nature of the material itself. This allows for the possibilities of designing and building structures at the nanometer scale for a variety of applications. Noble metal (copper - Cu, gold - Au and silver - Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) have size and shape dependent optical properties as well as strong absorption in the visible spectrum. Much of the interest in metal nanoparticles has involved Au and Ag as the metals. Au and Ag nanoparticle solutions are usually colored and as the size or shape of the nanoparticle changes, the observed color will also change. These unique size and shape dependent optical properties of are interest and can be characterized using spectroscopic techniques. The metal surfaces are also easily functionalized with a variety of substances including organic ligands with thiol groups that have an affinity to form metal-S bonds. The Turkevich method is the traditional synthesis method for metal nanoparticles. This research explores the use of amino acid cysteine and cystine (dimer of two cysteine molecules) to not only synthesis metal nanoparticles, but also functionalize their surfaces. The procedures were optimized for use in biological systems and analyzed using optical methods such as UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy.

Synthesis and optical characterization of cysteine- and cystine-coated metal nanoparticles

251st National Meeting (2016)

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