Radioactive Bimetallic Gold–Silver Nanoparticles Production in a Research Nuclear Reactor

Abstract

Synthesis of radioactive, bimetallic nanoparticles was successfully accomplished using the Missouri S&T research nuclear reactor (MSTR). Aqueous solutions of 2 mM gold chloride and 2 mM silver nitrate were prepared and mixed with a solution of 1 mM polyvinylpyrrolidone and 60 mM of 2‐propanol. Four different samples with volume ratios of 70/30, 50/50, 30/70, and 0/100 of Au/Ag were irradiated at a reactor thermal power of 10 kW for 3 min. The morphology, crystal structure, and chemical composition of the resulting nanoparticles were characterized with Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Gatan Microscopy Suite Software and the Java‐based image‐processing program ImageJ. It was found that the structure obtained depended on the composition of the irradiated sample, with production of core‐shell and alloyed nanoparticles obtained at different conditions.

Inorganic Radiolabeled Nanomaterials in Cancer Therapy: A Review

“…The synthesis of 198 Au nanoparticles usually involves two steps: neutron activation of Au foil and preparation of [ 198 Au]­HAuCl 4 followed by chemical reduction and stabilization. Garcia Toro and coauthors proposed an alternative, one-step, radiation-induced synthetic procedure for the production of radioactive AuNPs and bimetallic nanoparticles by combining neutron and γ-irradiation, allowing the simultaneous reduction and activation of Au ions in aqueous solution. , γ-rays trigger the radiolytic reduction of water and the subsequent formation of different species such as OH – , H • , H 2 O 2 , and hydrated electrons, which have the potential to reduce Au 3+ and form AuNPs. The authors also demonstrated that it was possible to obtain bimetallic alloy and core–shell nanoparticles by adding silver nitrate to the Au solution prior to irradiation.…”