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WASHINGTON: Want a more stable version of gold? Yes, it is possible. In a recent development, researchers have found out that encasing gold nanoparticles in carbon nanoshells can improve the stability of the yellow metal.

According to Nanowerk News, scientists in the US have developed a new method that enables the gold to be encapsulated in carbon, which can boost the functionality of the nanoparticles.

Researchers have utilised surface oxidised gold nanoparticles as catalysts for the growth of the carbon shells with well-controlled thickness employing a chemical vapour deposition process, scientists at University of Alabama said.

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This method can produce an addressable amount of the nanoparticles within hours, an improvement on previous techniques, which involved dispersing gold onto a carbon transmission electron microscope grid.

Recently, a team of scientists at Purdue University had used gold to produce nanoscale probes that can locate tumours within the human body. The metal acts as a ‘string’ that links iron oxide particles together.

Researchers at the University of Illinois have used the precious metal as a coating for the boron-nitrate nanotube, with ‘linker’ molecules being used to attach the cargo to the needle.

According to the scientists, the tool, which measures approximately 40 nanometers in diameter, can be used to observe and manipulate individual molecules.

The nanoneedle provides a mechanism by which we can quantitatively examine biological processes occurring within a cell’s nucleus or cytoplasm.

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