Date of Graduation

Fall 2014

Degree

Master of Science in Chemistry

Department

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Committee Chair

Adam Wanekaya

Abstract

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have potential use in targeted drug delivery, therapeutics (hyperthermia), catalysis, imaging, data storage, and environmental remediation among other potential applications. However, they have been found to have higher cytotoxicity, high reactivity, and instability in aqueous environments hence the need to coat them with gold to render them stable and biologically compatible. Previous methods for fabrication of gold coated cobalt nanoparticles have been in organic media employing toxic solvents and surfactants that are biologically incompatible. In most cases, tedious phase transfer procedures are required to get the NPs into an aqueous medium for certain applications. Even the NPs separated via these phase transfer procedures may not be usable in applications that require strict biocompatibility due to residual toxicity from the fabrication medium. In this project, both Co and gold-coated Co NPs were successfully fabricated in aqueous media at room temperature. Spectroscopic techniques such as Infrared (IR), Scanning and Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM), Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) Spectrophotometry, X-Ray Diffraction Spectroscopy and Point of Zero Charge (PZC) were used to extensively characterize the NPs among other techniques.

Keywords

cobalt, gold coated, nanoparticles, aqueous synthesis, electroless, biocompatibility, toxicity, characterization

Subject Categories

Chemistry

Copyright

© Geoffrey Nyauma Manani

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