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Tuesday, 15th July 2008 (6488 views)

Scientists have explained in detail the scientific properties of gold nanoparticles, according to ScienceDaily.

Researchers from four different universities across two continents worked together to explore the electronic and molecular structure of the particles.

Robert Whetten, a professor in the Georgia Institute of Technology's School of Physics and School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said although many researchers use gold nanoparticles nobody understood the way they worked until now.

US universities Georgia Tech and Stanford University partnered with Scandinavian institutes Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Jyvaskyla to discover that gold nanoparticles have a "divide and protect" structure.

Mr Whetten said: "The theoretical concepts published in this paper provide a solid background for further understanding of the distinct electrical, optical and chemical properties of the stable mono-layer-protected gold nanoclusters."

Last month it was discovered that gold nanoparticles can help in the delivery of drugs as they can pass through cells without breaking the membrane surrounding it, reported News-Medical.net.

 

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