Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
MALDI Matrix-assisted laser desorption and ionisation (mass spectrometry)
MBA
Mercapto-benzoic acid
Me
Methyl
Mes
Mesityl, 2,4,6-trimethylphenyl (not methanesulfonyl)
MS
Mass spectrometry
octyl
n
-octyl
Pc
Phthalocyanine
Ph
Phenyl
Pr
Propyl
PAGE
Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis
PPTT
Plasmonic photothermal therapy
ROS
Reactive oxygen species
SAXS
Small-angle X-ray scattering
SEC
Size-exclusion chromatography
SEM
Scanning electron microscopy
SERS
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy
SP
Surface plasmon
SPR
Surface plasmon resonance
SR
Organothiolato ligands
t
-Bu
tert
-butyl
TEM
Transmission electron microscopy
TGA
Thermogravimetric analysis
Tio
Tiopronin
Tol
4-Methylphenyl
TOAB
Tetra(
n
-octyl)ammonium bromide
XRD
X-ray diffraction
1
Introduction
Colloidal gold has been known since ancient times and was used for producing
highly coloured glasses, for example, red or mauve glasses were highly valued by
the Romans. The alchemists believed that the discovery of a soluble form of gold
would result in a potion called the “elixir of life”, which if ingested would lead to
eternal life. Hindu chemists also developed gold potions in ancient times. In the
seventeenth century, the glass-colouring process was refined by Andreus Cassius
and Johann Kunckel [
1
]. In 1842, John Herschel invented a primitive photographic
process called Chrysotype (from the Greek word for gold) which used colloidal
gold to record images on paper. The recognition that colloids of the more noble
metals could be studied using scientific methods and may lead to interesting
applications can be traced back to Michael Faraday's research at the Royal Insti-
tution in the 1850s. Peter Edwards and Sir John Muerig Thomas celebrated the
150th Anniversary of Faraday's Royal Society Bakerian Lecture on colloids with an
excellent review in 2007 of his contributions and their implications [
2
-
4
]. Faraday
