Book Description

In the last decade, gold nanoparticles have provided a suitable platform for the development of novel and efficient diagnostic and therapeutic tools, which avoid the typical drawbacks of the old systems. They are biocompatible and they can be easily synthesised, encapsulated and functionalised with (bio)molecules. Nanoparticles produced by a wet chemistry synthesis have the geometry, which enables the complete control of their optical and physical properties. It is also possible to influence the targeting and stability/release behaviour by coating the nanoparticle surface. In this Update the reader can find in a single volume the methods used most often for the synthesis and coating of gold nanoparticles (spheres, cages, cubes, rods), the links between optical features and geometries of gold nanoparticles, and the novel applications in nanomedicine of gold nanoparticles determined by their geometry. One of the main objectives of this Update is to provide, a readily comprehensible connection in all the chapters between the geometry of gold nanoparticles and their final applications. Another target of this book is to provide information about efficient processes for the synthesis and the coating of gold nanoparticles, all of which have been directly tested by the author. This Update offers comprehensive information on the whole topic from the synthesis of the gold nanoparticles to their medical applications; this is accompanied by a complete and recent bibliography, in order to give to the readers the opportunity to research further the topics addressed in the book. In this way, students and researchers from academia and industry can have a complete picture of gold nanostructures, physicians and biologists can develop ideas and applications for the new nano-tools, and chemists can have a general guide to the synthesis of gold nanoparticles. This is a state-of-the-art guide for the synthesis and uses of gold nanoparticles.