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Highly branched and hollow gold nanourchins for bacterial killing and off-resonance SERS sensing

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Abstract

Herein, we systematically investigated the synthesis of hollow gold nanourchins characterized by multiple sharp tips with extremely small radii of 5–10 nm radiating from central cores. The two-step-based approach was exploited to produce hollow Au nanourchins. The pre-synthesized Ag nanospheres were used as sacrificial templates in the galvanic replacement with HAuCl4 precursor to assist the formation of hollow cores. Subsequently, ascorbic acid was added to trigger the co-reduction reactions to promote the growth of multiple sharp tips. The hollow Au nanourchins exhibit tunable morphology and optical response in the visible to near-infrared regions (725–1040 nm), simply by adjusting different reaction parameters, including the amounts of Ag seed, HAuCl4 precursor, and ascorbic acid. Notably, the hollow Au nanourchins demonstrate a remarkably potent bactericidal efficiency against E. coli, surpassing that of spiky Au nanoparticles with solid cores. A better antibacterial activities were also observed for hollow Au nanourchins with shorter tips as compared to those with longer tips. Furthermore, the synthesized particles display a significant SERS enhancement toward the detection of Rhodamine B (10−4 M) even under off-resonance conditions. These findings highlight the potential of the hollow Au nanourchins as multifunctional materials for sensing and biological applications.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education (HCMUTE) for financial support. The authors also sincerely thank Dr. Thanh-Binh Nguyen, Ms. Minh-Nhan Thi Nguyen and Ms. Yen-Linh Hoang Nguyen for their helps.

Funding

This work is financially supported by Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education under the program “HCMUTE Key research projects” (T2023-12).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education, 01 Vo Van Ngan Street, Linh Chieu Ward, Thu Duc District, Ho Chi Minh City, 700000, Vietnam

    Nhung Thi Tran, Tien-Giang Nguyen, Minh-Tam Le, Khanh-Son Trinh & Anh-Tuan Nguyen Huynh

  2. Institute of Fundamental and Applied Sciences, Duy Tan University, Ho Chi Minh City, 700000, Vietnam

    Viet-Duc Phung

  3. Faculty of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, 550000, Vietnam

    Viet-Duc Phung

  4. Institute of Materials Science, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi, 100000, Vietnam

    Nam-Thang Pham

  5. Faculty of Materials Science and Energy Engineering, Graduate University of Science and Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi, 100000, Vietnam

    Nam-Thang Pham

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  1. Nhung Thi Tran
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Tran, N.T., Nguyen, TG., Le, MT. et al. Highly branched and hollow gold nanourchins for bacterial killing and off-resonance SERS sensing. Chem. Pap. 77, 7505–7514 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11696-023-03077-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11696-023-03077-8

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