GOLD NANOCONJUGATES: PREPARATION, CHARACTERISATION AND BIOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS

This PhD thesis is dedicated to the preparation, characterisation and biological application of gold nanoconjugates. Gold nanoparticles are prepared by various modern preparation methods, and subsequently characterised by spectroscopic (UV-vis, ATR-FTIR, NMR), microscopic (TEM) techniques. The stability of the conjugates is evaluated both by using Zeta-potential studies and UV-vis. The nanoparticles are used in cellular uptake experiments using human glioblastoma cancer cells, and are found to possess a low cytotoxicity. The nanoparticles are found taken up by the cells and distributed in different cellular compartments.