Synthesis of Confined Nanoparticles sensitive to small molecular conformational changes

A.S. PEINETTI; H. CERETTI; M. MIZRAHI; S. RAMIREZ; F. REQUEJO; J. MONTSERRAT; F. BATTAGLINI

York

Congreso; 12th International Conference on Materials Chemistry; 2015

Royal Society of Chemistry

The synthesis of metal nanoparticles by pulsed galvanostatic electrodeposition on nanoporous alumina is presented. The method allows the production of different metal nanoparticles (Au, Pt, Ni) with activeuncapped surfaces that present an excellent electron transfer process and canbe easily modified. The NPs size can be controlled through the nanoporousdiameter, obtaining particles from 1 to 10nm. The alumina structurewas characterised by SEM images and the size and modification of the generatedNPs were determined in-situ byextended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS).As model system, gold nanoparticles electrogenerated in the alumina cavities with a controlled size (2 nm) are easily modified with athiol-containing aptamer for the label-free detection of small molecules by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Our results show that the use of alimited electrical conducting surface inside an insulating environment can bevery sensitive to aptamers conformational changes, introducing a new approachto the detection of small molecules exemplified here by the direct andselective detection of adenosine monophosphate at nanomolar concentrations.