title: Biomimetic synthesis of highly biocompatible gold nanoparticles with amino acid-dithiocarbamate as a precursor for SERS imaging.
abstract: Amino acid-dithiocarbamate (amino acid-DTC) was developed as both the reductant and ligand stabilizer for biomimetic synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), which served as an excellent surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) contrast nanoprobe for cell imaging. Glycine (Gly), glutamic acid (Glu), and histidine (His) with different isoelectric points were chosen as representative amino acid candidates to synthesize corresponding amino acid-DTC compounds through mixing with carbon disulfide (CS2), respectively. The pyrogenic decomposition of amino acid-DTC initiated the reduction synthesis of AuNPs, and the strong coordinating dithiocarbamate group of amino acid-DTC served as a stabilizer that grafted onto the surface of the AuNPs, which rendered the as-prepared nanoparticles a negative surface charge and high colloidal stability. MTT cell viability assay demonstrated that the biomimetic AuNPs possessed neglectful toxicity to the human hepatoma cell, which guaranteed them good biocompatibility for biomedical application. Meanwhile, the biomimetic AuNPs showed a strong SERS effect with an enhancement factor of 9.8 × 10(5) for the sensing of Rhodamine 6G, and two distinct Raman peaks located at 1363 and 1509 cm(-1) could be clearly observed in the cell-imaging experiments. Therefore, biomimetic AuNPs can be explored as an excellent SERS contrast nanoprobe for biomedical imaging, and the amino acid-DTC mediated synthesis of the AuNPs has a great potential in bio-engineering and biomedical imaging applications.
authors: State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Bio-Nanotechnology and Molecular Engineering of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, People's Republic of China.
authors: Li
authors: L
authors: Li
authors: Jianbo
authors: J
authors: Liu
authors: Xiaohai
authors: X
authors: Yang
authors: Jin
authors: J
authors: Huang
authors: Dinggeng
authors: D
authors: He
authors: Xi
authors: X
authors: Guo
authors: Lan
authors: L
authors: Wan
authors: Xiaoxiao
authors: X
authors: He
authors: Kemin
authors: K
authors: Wang
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D032701:Biomimetics; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000473:pathology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002470:Cell Survival; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman / Q000379:methods*; D013499:Surface Properties; D013859:Thiocarbamates
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D013859:Thiocarbamates; D006046:Gold