Industrial Consultancy & Sponsored Research (IC&SR) , IIT Madras
Synthesis of Toxic-free Star Shaped Gold Nanostructures using Microfluidics and its usage in Intracellular Delivery
Categories for this Invention
Technology: Toxic-free star shaped gold nanostructures
Category: Micro & Nano Technologies
Industry: Bio-Micro/Nano, Biomedical Engineering
Application: Intracellular delivery using photoporation
Market: The global market size of nanomaterials in personalized medicine is expected to increase from $346.7 billion in 2023 to $592.0 billion by the end of 2028, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.3% during the forecast period of 2023-2028.
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Problem Statement
- Anisotropic gold nanoparticles, with near-infrared tunability, are useful in cellular transfection and biomedical applications, targeting cancer cells and causing thermomechanical damage through laser radiation.
- Gold nanoparticles are created through chemical reduction using reducing agents like trisodium citrate, sodium borohydride, or acetic acid, but controlling kinetics and producing nanostars is challenging.
- Microfluidics technology offers high yields and low dispersion, but it requires large volumes of reagents and time.
- A method to synthesize toxic-free star-shaped gold nanostructures is needed, requiring fewer reagents, reproducibility, cost-effectiveness, and time efficiency.
Technology
A method to synthesize toxic-free star shaped gold nanostructures comprising steps of
Preparing seed nanoparticles by adding a reducing agent into a gold precursor;
Diluting the seed solution prepared in step (1);
Adding the diluted seed solution prepared in step (2) to a first inlet of droplet microfluidic device;
Maintaining a low pH throughout the synthesis by feeding a strong acid through a second inlet.
Adding gold precursor through a third inlet;
Simultaneously adding ascorbic acid and silver nitrate in the next junction through a fourth and fifth inlet, respectively;
Adding silicone oil to the mixed reagents solution and forming aqueous droplets in oil;
To halt the growth process, collecting the nanostar solution in PEG solution kept at ice-cold temperature; and
Removing excess oil and PEG by multiple centrifugations
Key Features / Value Proposition
Application
- Effectively useful for intracellular delivery
Toxic Content
- Toxic-free
Shape
- Star shaped gold nanostructures and crystalline nature
Deliver mode
- Deliver biomolecules to the cells by light activated technique mediated by star shaped gold nanostructures
Synthesis
- Droplet based microfluidic device can be used to synthesize star shaped gold nanoparticles in a single step without the use of any surfactant
Gold precursor
- Tetrachloroauric acid
Strong acid is hydrochloric acid
- Thiolated polymer
- Poly(ethylene glycol) thiol
Reducing agent
- Trisodium citrate for Au seed formation
- Acetic acid for Nanostar formation
Flow rates
- 150 to 900 µL/h to achieve the oil to aqueous phase flow rate ratio as 1 to 6.
- At any point of synthesis, parameters can be tuned by varying the flow rate of reagents and concentration ratio.
Time efficiency
- Au NS synthesis in microfluidic device takes only few seconds & cost-effectiveness.
Questions about this Technology?
Contact For Licensing
sm-marketing@imail.iitm.ac.in
ipoffice2@iitm.ac.in
Research Lab
Dr. Tuhin Subhra Santra
Department of Engineering Design.
Intellectual Property
- IITM IDF Ref. 2271
- Patent No: IN 526929
Technology Readiness Level
TRL-3
Experimental proof of concept