Thursday, 1st November 2007 (3166 views)

A group of researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia has found a way to create gold nanoparticles without the use of manmade and synthetic chemicals usually associated with the process.

The science team, led by Kavita Katti, Raghuraman Kannan and Kattesh Katti, used a combination of gold salts, soybeans and water to create the gold nanoparticles in a process which they say could create much less environmental impact than chemical-based methods.

According to the researchers, immersing gold salts in water and combining them with soybeans creates a chemical process in which phytochemicals from the beans first breaks down the gold dust into nanoparticles and then stabilises them, causing uniform nanoparticles to form in the water.

"We are solving a pollution problem at the very beginning stages of a developing technology," said Dr Kannan. "We don't anticipate any waste or byproducts from this new process that would not be biodegradable."

Earlier this month, scientists at Purdue University in Indiana found that gold nanostructures triggered by laser beams can cause tumour cells to self-destruct, United Press International reported.

 

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