Gold nanoparticles exhibit a variety of unique properties which, when harnessed and manipulated effectively, lead to materials whose uses are both far-ranging in their potential and cost effective. This report covers different applications that are being developed across the fields of health, environment and technology.
Trevor Keel, Nanotechnology Project Manager at the World Gold Council, said the opportunities and possibilities identified are just a subset of the scope to use gold in the era of nanotechnology. “As a readily available and well understood material, gold nanoparticles are ideal for use in a vast array of applications.”
WGC is looking to promote and invest in the development of gold nanoparticles through Innovations Partnerships. Tim Harper, founder of Cientifica Ltd, said that over the last decade, almost $50 billion of government funding has been invested into nanotechnologies. “This investment is now starting to bear fruit, with a steady stream of commercially viable nanotechnologies which are positively impacting human health, the environment and technology.”
While gold has a long history of use in the biomedical field stretching back almost five thousand years, nanotechnology has broadened its potential uses. For example, tumour targeting technologies exploiting gold’s inherent bio-compatibility are being developed to deliver drugs directly into tumours, and diagnostic tests are being developed for the early detection of prostate and other cancers.
On the environmental front, gold nano-particle based technologies are showing great promise in providing the basis for greener production methods for chemical feedstocks, and in pollution control and water purification.
Gold is also being used in the development of cost-effective and efficient fuel cells, a key clean-energy technology of the future.
The metal is a well-established material in the electronics industry, and its use will increase as the worlds of electronics and nanotechnology interact further. For example, gold is being deployed in conductive nanoparticle inks for plastic electronics. Gold nanotechnologies have also been shown to offer functional benefits for visual display technologies like touch sensitive screens, and potentially for use in advanced data storage technologies including advanced flash memory devices.
The full paper can be downloaded from: http://www.gold.org/assets/file/rs_archive/gold_and_nanotechnology_in_the_age_of_innovation.pdf
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