Polyene Nanoparticles

Abstract

The main goal of this project was to synthesize polyene silver and gold nanoparticles with predefined size. New, polyunsaturated thiocarbonyl compounds have been prepared. The cyclic thioxopolyenes are stable as monomers while acyclic ones react instantaneously to polyene substituted trithiacyclohexanes and 2H-thiopyranes.

Three polyene selena lipids were prepared by esterification of glycerol with the correspondent polyenoic acids and selena fatty acids. The three polyenyl selenium lipids formed H-aggregates in water.

Hydrophobic polyene gold and silver nanoparticles with different size ranges have been prepared by using polyene thiones and polyene sulfides. The polyene nanoparticles have different aggregation patterns correlated with their individual structural characteristics. Hydrophobic polyene thiones nanoparticles have the chain conjugatively linked to the nanoparticle surface via an ene-thiolate bond. Trithiacyclohexane and 2H-thiopyranes are probably adsorbed onto gold surface without cleavage of the C-S bond.

Hydrophilic polyene selena phospholipids gold nanoparticles were prepared by the adsorption of selena glycerophospholipids on a gold nanoparticle surface via a selenolate bond with the cleavage of the H3C-Se bond. The contact angle value indicates the hydrophilic character of the nanoparticles. The gold particle size depends on the length of the assembled polyene compound.