State of the art in gold nanoparticle synthesis

General principles and recent developments in the synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are reviewed. The "in situ" Turkevich-Frens and Brust-Schiffrin methods are still major synthetic routes, with citrate and thiolate ligands, respectively, that have been improved and extended to macromolecules including biomacromolecules with a large biomedical potential of optical and theranostic applications. Along this line, however, recently developed seed-growth methods have allowed a precise control of AuNP sizes in a broad range and multiple shapes. AuNPs and core@shell bimetallic MAuNPs loosely stabilized by nitrogen and oxygen atoms of embedding polymers and dendrimers and composite solid-state materials containing AuNPs with supports including oxides, carbons, mesoporous materials and molecular organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted much interest because of their catalytic applications. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.