UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Rapid Synthesis of [Au₂₅(Cys)₁₈] Nanoclusters via Carbon Monoxide in Microfluidic Liquid-Liquid Segmented Flow System and their Antimicrobial Performance

Huang, H; Byoung Hwang, G; Wu, G; Karu, K; Du Toit, H; Wu, H; Callison, J; ... Gavriilidis, A; + view all (2020) Rapid Synthesis of [Au₂₅(Cys)₁₈] Nanoclusters via Carbon Monoxide in Microfluidic Liquid-Liquid Segmented Flow System and their Antimicrobial Performance. Chemical Engineering Journal , 383 , Article 123176. 10.1016/j.cej.2019.123176. Green open access

[thumbnail of Gavriilidis_Au25 NCs synthesis_MS_revised.d.clean-2.pdf]
Preview
Text
Gavriilidis_Au25 NCs synthesis_MS_revised.d.clean-2.pdf - Accepted Version

Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

Atomically precise thiolate-gold nanoclusters with well-defined structures attract attention for use in various applications. However, most of the recently reported synthetic methods rely on prolonged synthesis times (a few hours to days) in order to produce high purity materials with a single cluster size. Such extended synthesis times make these processes ill-suited for adaptation to industrial scale production with continuous flow. In this work, an improved method for the synthesis of thiolated Au25 nanoclusters is presented utilising a microfluidic system and CO-mediated reduction. The optimized system, based on a coiled flow inverter with inner diameter of 1 mm operating at 80 °C and 500 kPa took only 3 min for the synthesis of atomically precise cysteine-capped [Au25(Cys)18] nanoclusters, as characterized by ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The productivity of the system was increased by using higher reactant concentrations which led to a throughput of 0.9 gAu per day, without changing the reaction time or affecting the product purity. The Au nanoclusters were used as photobactericidal enhancement materials. In antimicrobial testing against S. aureus, encapsulation of the Au nanoclusters into crystal violet impregnated silicone showed high photobactericidal activity (~1.7 log reduction in viable bacteria) upon 6 h illumination of white light at ~312 lx, while crystal violet did not show significant photobactericidal activity on its own.

Type: Article
Title: Rapid Synthesis of [Au₂₅(Cys)₁₈] Nanoclusters via Carbon Monoxide in Microfluidic Liquid-Liquid Segmented Flow System and their Antimicrobial Performance
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2019.123176
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2019.123176
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Gold nanoclusters, Carbon monoxide reduction, Tube-in-tube contactor, Coiled flow inverter, Taylor flow, Light-activated antimicrobial agents
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Chemical Engineering
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Chemistry
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10085053
Downloads since deposit
227Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item