Biosynthesis of spherical gold nanoparticles and their characterization

Abstract Colloidal gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were synthesized by the reduction of chloroauric acid (HAuCl4.H2O) using silk sericin (SS) extracted from Bombyx mori silk as a biotemplate. Synthesized AuNPs were characterized by using the various analytical techniques. UV-visible (UV-vis) study confirms the formation of AuNPs in aqueous SS solution showing the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band at λ = 530 nm. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) study revealed the crystalline phase of gold nanoparticles with face centered cubic (FCC) structure. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images showed the formed AuNPs are spherical in shape with diameter around 8 nm. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) experiment also confirmed the formation of AuNPs in SS solution with average size 10 nm.