Increasing the stability of DNA-functionalized gold nanoparticles using mercaptoalkanes

In this work, the stability of DNA functionalized gold nanoparticles was examined in relation to their size, temperature, as well as the presence of mono- and bivalent ions. Furthermore, we report on the stabilizing effect of an additional post-functionalization with mercaptoalkanes, optionally bearing triethylene glycol (TEG) units. Although such so-called backfilling molecules are commonly used for planar gold surfaces, they have rarely been reported in combination with DNA-functionalized nanoparticles. Our results show that, conform the DLVO theory, smaller citrate-capped gold nanoparticles were more stable towards higher concentrations of salt. Citrate nanoparticles of 30 nm in size were only stable in sodium chloride concentrations up to ~0.05 M and up to 45 °C. The stability of these uncoated nanoparticles was even lower when bivalent salts were used (i.e. <2 × 10⁻⁴ M). Immobilization of DNA on these nanoparticles, on the other hand, improved the stability in salt solutions with at least one order of magnitude. The additional use of backfilling molecules stabilized the gold nanoparticles even further, without negatively affecting the DNA hybridization efficiency. DNA functionalization also had a positive impact on the thermal stability of the nanoparticles. Unfortunately, this beneficial effect was not observed after a subsequent backfilling step.