Green synthesis of gold nanoparticles by Allium sativum extract and their assessment as SERS substrate

摘要

A green synthesis was used for preparing stable colloidal gold nanoparticles by using Allium sativum aqueous extract both as reducing and capping agent. The obtained nanoparticles were characterized by UV–Vis spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and transmission electron microscopy. Moreover, their potential to be used as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate was investigated. The obtained gold nanoparticles have spherical shape with mean diameters of 9–15 nm (depending on the amount of reducing agent used under boiling conditions) and are stable up to several months. FTIR spectroscopy shows that the nanoparticles are capped by protein molecules from the extract. The protein shell offers a protective coating, relatively impervious to external molecules, thus, rendering the nanoparticles stable and quite inert. These nanoparticles have the potential to be used as SERS substrates, both in solution and inside human fetal lung fibroblast HFL-1 living cells. We were able to demonstrate both the internalization of the nanoparticles inside HFL-1 cells and their ability to preserve the SERS signal after cellular internalization.