Research into gold nanoparticles has grown rapidly in recent years and interest has now extended beyond the materials science aspect of these solids. With the modification of the surface of nanoparticles, their uses can be expanded into a number of applications such as catalysis, sensors and immobilisation of biomolecules.

In his Dalton Transactions Frontier article, Professor James Wilton-Ely, University of Oxford, UK, provides an account of new developments in the modification of these nanoparticles, namely the complexation of metal-containing units to the surface.

The order inherent in the surface of the gold nanoparticles allows the tailoring of the environment and arrangement of the coordination metal complex, while the solid nature of the nanoparticles means they are readily separated from any reaction mixture. By coordinating metal complexes with nanoparticles, they can, for example, be made into effective catalysts.

This is not the whole story, however, as there are even more exciting possibilities with this type of solid.  

'A major area in which metal functionalised nanoparticles have yet to be fully exploited is the field of biomedical applications', says Wilton-Ely.