A Rapid One-Step Method for Gold Nanoparticles Synthesis with Polyethylene Glycol 200

Because of their unique and excellent properties, gold nanoparticles (GNPs) have been widely used in biological monitoring, cosmetics and clinical fields. In this study, PEG200, as a component, and ascorbic acid, as a reducing agent, were used to develop a rapid one-step method for GNPs synthesis at room temperature. The effect of PEG200 on GNPs synthesis and tolerance of GNPs to some common solvents were also investigated. The whole synthesis process was completed within one hour, and transmission electron microscope (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and UV-Vis characterization showed that the GNPs synthesized by this method had mono dispersity, a strong absorption peak at 522 nm, with an average particle size of 20.38 nm. Stability study showed that the color and UV spectrum of GNPs solution did not change significantly within 90 days. Moreover, its strong tolerance to PB (0.1 M), NaCl (0.9%) and TE solutions was also observed. This method avoids high temperature process, reduces the difficulty of condition control, and can provide immediate PEG-GNPs synthesis for some special occasions, and the strong solution tolerance ensures its great potential application in many fields.