Controlled self-assembly of thiol-terminated poly(amidoamine) dendrimer and gold nanoparticles

A dendrimer-mediated “bricks and mortar” strategy for the ordering of gold nanoparticles into structured assemblies was described. The poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimer used were generation 2.0-5.0 having surface thiol group (G2.0-5.0SH). By using thiol-terminated PAMAM dendrimer, stable self-assembled gold clusters in water were obtained as characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. In this approach, direct control of interparticle space is provided through choice of dendrimer generation.