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Updated: Dec 19, 2025
Fabrication of a Functionalized Magnetic Bacterial Nanocellulose with Iron Oxide Nanoparticles
Published on: May 26, 2016
Synthesis and SERS application of gold and iron oxide functionalized bacterial cellulose nanocrystals
Seju Kang1, Asifur Rahman1, Ethan Boeding1
1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA. pvikes@vt.edu and Virginia Tech Institute of Critical Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS) Sustainable Nanotechnology Center (VTSuN), Blacksburg, Virginia, USA.
Abstract:
Bacterial cellulose nanocrystals (BCNCs) are biocompatible cellulose nanomaterials that can host guest nanoparticles to form hybrid nanocomposites with a wide range of applications. Herein, we report the synthesis of a hybrid nanocomposite that consists of plasmonic gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and superparamagnetic iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles supported on BCNCs. As a proof of concept, the hybrid nanocomposites were employed to isolate and detect malachite green isothiocyanate (MGITC) via magnetic separation and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Different initial gold precursor (Au3+) concentrations altered the size and morphology of the AuNPs formed on the nanocomposites. The use of 5 and 10 mM Au3+ led to a heterogenous mix of spherical and nanoplate AuNPs with increased SERS enhancements, as compared to the more uniform AuNPs formed using 1 mM Au3+. Rapid and sensitive detection of MGITC at concentrations as low as 10-10 M was achieved. The SERS intensity of the normalized Raman peak at 1175 cm-1 exhibited a log-linear relationship for MGITC concentrations between 2 × 10-10 and 2 × 10-5 M for Au@Fe3O4@BCNCs. These results suggest the potential of these hybrid nanocomposites for application in a broad range of analyte detection strategies.
