Nanometric resolution in the hydrodynamic size analysis of ligand-stabilized gold nanorods

The stability and hydrodynamic size of ligand-coated gold nanorods (GNRs; aspect ratio 3.6) have been characterized by nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA)-a single-particle counting method that can measure size distributions with low nanometer resolution. Stable aqueous suspensions of citrate-stabilized GNRs (cit-GNRs) are amenable to surface functionalization without loss of dispersion control. Cit-GNRs can be treated with chemisorptive ligands (thiols and dithiocarbamates), nonionic surfactants (Tween 20), and proteins (human serum albumin), all of which produce stable suspensions at low surfactant concentrations. The precision of NTA (relative standard deviation 10-12%, standard error <2%) is sufficient to allow differences in the hydrodynamic size of coated GNRs to be interpreted in terms of surfactant structure and conformation.