Microwave-enhanced synthesis of Au and Ag nanoparticles

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SKNANO has been dedicated to research and development, prototyping, testing, innovative synthesis and fabrication of gold and silver nanoparticles, mainly for biomedical applications. For pharmaceutical and bio-related applications, uniform nanoparticles, highly reproducible in both size and shape, are strictly required. Otherwise, their bio-conjugation and subsequent performance during bio-related processes can be quite different, largely increasing complicity of data analysis and introducing data/performance inconsistency. It is however still challenging to achieve high batch-to-batch reproducibility, especially for ultrasmall, rough, high-surface-area nanoparticles. Microwave-assisted synthesis, using microwave irradiation to provide rapid and uniform inside-out heating directly to reactants, can provide much more precise control over reaction conditions than any previous technology and represents a unique tool to synthesizing nanoparticles with very high reproducibility. The main goal of this short project is to develop microwave-enhanced synthesis routes in order to obtain uniform, stable colloidal solutions of very small Au and Ag NPs, with high batch-to-batch reproducibility. Meanwhile, we are also interested in establishing the relationship between ligands, nanoparticle growth mechanism under microwave, surface chemistry, and colloidal stability in dispersion, which can provide guides for future material development.