Sonochemical preparation of composite nanoparticles of Au/γ-Fe2O3 and magnetic separation of glutathione

We prepared Au/γ-Fe2O3 composite nanoparticles by sonochemically reducing Au(III) ions employing no stabilizer in the aqueous solution to form stable Au nanoparticles and allowing them to attach onto the surface of γ-Fe2O3 particles with an average size of 21 nm. Size of the formed Au nanoparticle depended on the initial concentration of Au(III) ions. The number of the Au nanoparticles, supported on each γ-Fe2O3 particle was controlled by changing the relative amounts of Au(III) ions and γ-Fe2O3 particles. The composite nanoparticles exhibited a high affinity with glutathione, a tripeptide with mercapto group so that separation and manipulation of glutathione in aqueous solutions could be performed by application of external magnetic field. Because the surfaces of the Au nanoparticles were not shielded by any stabilizers, or naked, sonochemically prepared Au/γ-Fe2O3 composite nanoparticles seemed to show stronger affinity to the glutathione than those by the radiochemical method.