SERS and Antibacterial Active Green Synthesized Gold Nanoparticles

Accurate control of size, composition, morphology, and stability, and the use of environmentally friendly procedures are highly desirable for the synthesis of nanoparticles. Here is a report on the use of Vitis californica leaf broth for the synthesis of gold nanoparticles. The morphology of the particles formed consists of a mixture of gold nanotriangles and spheres with fcc (111) structure. At lower concentrations of the extract, formation of triangular-shaped particles is found to dominate, while at higher concentrations, almost spherical particles alone are observed. The investigations made on the surface enhanced Raman scattering activity of these nanoparticles using 2-aminothiophenol and crystal violet as probe molecules are discussed in detail. The synthesized nanoparticles displayed efficient antibacterial activity against the tested gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli and gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus.