Synthesis and Characterisation of Alginate Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles for Melamine Detection

With protein content in milk chosen as a criterion for quality, adulteration with products like melamine has come to the fore. The lacunae associated with several of the screening methods are their own field applications, sensitivity, and selectivity. With the development of handheld devices such as UV-Vis spectrometer and Raman spectrometer, there is a need for the development of sensors that would enable melamine detection in milk. In this work, gold nanoparticles have been synthesized on an alginate template, employing the polysaccharide which is a reducing agent as well as a stabilizing agent. The strong interaction that melamine to alginate gold nanoparticles indicates itself as an increased absorbance in the UV-Vis spectra along with a melamine concentration-dependent blue shift and hyperchromism. The present study indicates that the synthesized gold nanoparticles could be a tool for melamine detection in milk. Melamine up to 8 mu M concentration was found to be sensitive to nanoparticle binding.