Highly stable gelatin layer-protected gold nanoparticles as surface-enhanced Raman scattering substrates.

Amine and carboxylic groups rich gelatin was used as reducing and stabilizing agent to form highly stable gold nanoparticles for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) applications. The size of the particle was determined to be 13 nm by TEM with mono-dispersity. The size of the gold nanoparticles was little affected by the initial gelatin concentration. The gelatin-gold nanoparticles show strong SERS activity with Rhodamine 6G and Ruthenium bipyridine as reporter molecules. Both carboxylic acid groups and amine groups were identified by FT-IR to be present on the gelatin-gold nanoparticle surface, providing the possibility of further conjugation with other molecules. The gelatin-protected gold nanoparticles prepared by this simple, green, method displayed very good solubility and stability in many solvents, and good monodispersity, all desirable features as good SERS substrates.