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Tuesday, 28th November 2006 (5762 views)

By focusing on the concept of the self-assembly of lipid membranes, researchers from Rice University, Texas, have been able to ascertain how gold and silver nanoparticles can form bigger structures.

From this research that involved using the hydrophobic effect, the chemists hope to be able to conduct research into the development of cancer drugs as well as catalysts that can be utilised within the chemical industry.

The research is to be displayed in the Journal of the American Chemical Society that will be published on November 29th and is explained by Eugene Zubarev, the Norman Hackerman-Welch Young investigator and assistant professor of chemistry at the university.

He remarked: "When the micelle forms, the process drives the packing of all the junction points, which connect the hydrophobic and the hydrophilic part of an amphiphile, into a high-density array."

Mr Zubarev added: "By attaching a nanoparticle to the junction point of an amphiphile, we can, in effect, use micellization as a means to assemble billions and billions of individual nanoparticles into well-defined one-dimensional superstructures that are soluble in water."

Gold nanoparticles are already used in anti-cancer treatment as they can bind compounds onto the surface of tumours and are safe to use in the bloodstream.

 

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