Photoreduction of Au(III) to form Au(0) nanoparticles using ferritin as a photocatalyst

Gold metal nanoparticles have applications in bio sensing technology, nano-tube formation, and cancer therapy. We report attempts to synthesize gold nanoparticles within the ferritin cavity (8 nm) or to use ferritin as a scaffold for coating gold on the outside surface (12 nm). The intrinsic iron oxide core of ferritin is a semi-conductor and light can excite electrons to a conduction band producing a powerful reductant when a sacrificial electron donor fills the electron hole. We present a method using ferritin to photo chemically reduce Au(III) to metallic gold nanoparticles. During initial studies we observed that the choice of buffers influenced the products that formed as evidenced by a red product formed in TRIS and a purple produce formed in MOPS. Gold nanoparticles formed in MOPS buffer in the absence of illumination have diameters of 15-30 nm whereas illumination in TRIS buffer produced 5-10 nm gold nanoparticles. Increases in temperature cause the gold nanoparticles to form more rapidly. Chemical reduction and photochemical reduction methods have very different reaction profiles with photochemical reduction possessing a lag phase prior to the formation of gold nanoparticles.