A One-Step Plasma Assisted Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles and Simultaneous Linker-Free Conjugation with Nestin: An In Vitro Study of Cellular toxicity.

We introduce a method for conjugating antigens to gold nanoparticles (GNPs) while synthesizing them using gas plasma, which eliminates the need for chemical linkers intended to facilitate the conjugation procedure for immunotherapy purposes. We report a physical approach to conjugate antigen Nestin (NES) as a marker in malignant tumors to GNPs. Two approaches were used to perform the conjugation of GNPs and NES. The first method involved using citrate to synthesize GNPs, and then NES was conjugated onto the GNPs surface by plasma. In the second method, GNPs were simultaneously synthesized and linker-freely conjugated to NES by plasma treatment. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with the protocol defined in this study, Zeta-sizer, Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and Transmission Electron Microscopy results confirmed NES conjugation to GNPs. In addition, the toxicity of the prepared samples was investigated in vitro using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and flow cytometry, which proved the non-toxicity of the samples. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.