title: In situ green synthesis of biocompatible ginseng capped gold nanoparticles with remarkable stability.
abstract: We report herein an unprecedented one-step green synthesis of gold nanoparticles (G-AuNps), using naturally occurring Korean red ginseng root (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) without any special reducing/capping agents. The AuNps generated through this ginseng-mediated process did not aggregate suggesting that the phytochemicals present in them serve as excellent coatings on the nanoparticles and thus, provide robust shielding from aggregations. The ginseng-generated AuNps exhibit remarkable in vitro stability in various buffers including: cysteine, histidine, saline, sodium chloride and a host of pH ranges. Furthermore, the phytochemical coatings on the G-AuNps rendered them nontoxic as demonstrated through detailed cytotoxicity assays using WST-8 counting kit, performed on normal cervical cells lines. The present study opens up a new possibility of conveniently synthesizing AuNps using natural products which will be useful in optoelectronic and biomedical applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Kagoshima University, 1-21-35 Korimoto, Kagoshima 890-0065, Japan.
authors.forename: Kwati
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Leonard
authors.forename: Bashir
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ahmmad
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okamura
authors.forename: Junichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kurawaki
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002712:Chlorides / Q000737:chemistry; D003545:Cysteine / Q000737:chemistry; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D017612:Gold Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D006639:Histidine / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008422:Materials Testing; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission / Q000379:methods; D008956:Models, Chemical; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D005894:Panax / Q000737:chemistry*; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000295:instrumentation; D012492:Salts / Q000737:chemistry; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002712:Chlorides; D017612:Gold Compounds; D012492:Salts; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D006639:Histidine; D006046:Gold; C024568:gold tetrachloride, acid; D003545:Cysteine