Monofunctionalized Gold Nanoparticles: Fabrication and Applications

An overview of various approaches to synthesize gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) bearing one single chemically addressable unit and their diverse fields of application is presented. This comprehensive review not only describes the strategies pursued to obtain monofunctionalized AuNPs, but also reports their behavior as 'massive' molecules in wet chemical protocols and the scope of their applications. The latter reaches from site-specific labels in biomolecules over mechanical barriers in superstructures to building blocks in hybrid nano-architectures. The complementing physical properties of AuNPs combined with precise chemical control of their attachment makes these objects promising building blocks for numerous proof-of-concept experiments and applications.