A One-Pot Green Method for One-Dimensional Assembly of Gold Nanoparticles with a Novel Chitosan-Ninhydrin Bioconjugate at Physiological Temperature

With our newly prepared novel chitosan-ninhydrin (CHIT-NH) bioconjugate in this contribution, we made one-dimensional (1-D) assemblies of gold nanoparticles (NPs) at physiological temperature. This 1-D assembly method is simple, one-pot, and totally green wherein multiplex functional groups of the CHIT-NH conjugate make the nonuniform spatial distribution of stabilizers to form organized 1-D assemblies. UV-vis and infrared spectroscopy have been employed for identifying the molecular structure of CHIT-NIH conjugate, while scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for confirming the 1-D morphology of gold NP assemblies. Mechanism investigations on the basis of the measurements of dynamic light scattering (DLS), time-dependent optical spectra, visible observation on the change of solution color and SEM imaging showed that the CHIT-NH conjugate, a novel environmentally benign and excellently biocompatible material, serves not only as a reducing agent but also as a stabilizer for the growth and 1-D assembly of gold NPs.