Noble-metal nanoparticles directly conjugated to globular proteins

We report the synthesis of gold nanoparticles directly conjugated to bovine serum albumin protein by chemical reduction in aqueous solution. Transmission electron microscopy reveals that the gold nanoparticles are well dispersed with an average diameter less than 2 nm, and elemental analysis verifies the composition of the gold-protein conjugates. Infrared spectroscopy confirms that the polypeptide backbone is not cleaved during the conjugation process and that the side chain functional groups remain intact. Raman spectroscopy demonstrates that the disulfide bonds in the conjugated protein are broken and thus are available for interaction with the nanoparticle surface. This synthesis method is a new technique for directly attaching gold nanoparticles to macromolecular proteins.