One pot microwave assisted synthesis of bisphosphonate alkene capped gold nanoparticles

A new synthetic pathway for the direct synthesis of water soluble gold nanoparticles (GNPs) already possessing terminal alkene functional groups was developed. This is achieved by using synthesized (1-hydroxy-1-phosphonopent-4-enyl)phosphonic acid (HMBPene), presenting advantages of the well known bisphosphonate coating applied to colloidal gold instead of metal oxides. The proposed protocol allowed an accurate control of the particle size in the 13-20 nm diameter range with a high spherical uniformity, which is a crucial point for these colloids' properties. We have shown that it is possible to synthesize a functionalized nanoplatform in a one-pot one-phase process with a sacrificial molecule as reductant, pH mediator and capping agent.