Sikora M, Szymczak P, Thompson D, Cieplak M. Linker-mediated assembly of gold nanoparticles into multimeric motifs.
NANOTECHNOLOGY 2011;
22:445601. [PMID:
21979426 DOI:
10.1088/0957-4484/22/44/445601]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
We present a theoretical description of linker-mediated self-assembly of gold nanoparticles (Au-NP). Using mesoscale simulations with a coarse-grained model for the Au NPs and dirhenium-based linker molecules, we investigate the conditions under which large clusters can grow and construct a phase diagram that identifies favorable growth conditions in terms of floating and bound linker concentrations. The findings can be considered as generic, as we expect other NP-linker systems to behave in a qualitatively similar way. In particular, we also discuss the case of antibody-functionalised Au NPs connected by the C-reactive proteins (CRPs). We extract some general rules for NP linking that may aid the production of size- and shape-specific NP clusters for technology applications.
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