Characterisation of hybrid gold-polymer nanoparticles for use in bioassays

A series of novel gold-polymer nanoparticles that have been encoded with a SERS-active Raman molecule known as a ´Raman tag´, have been synthesised. This study has demonstrated that using polymers with dithiocarbamate containing end groups, nanoparticles can be readily coated by using a phase transfer method. Thus far, two SERS-active molecules have been assessed for suitability as Raman tags. These molecules are rhodamine B isothiocyanate and fluorescein isothiocyanate. These hybrid nanoparticles have been characterized using SERS, TEM and UV-Vis spectroscopy