The fascination with gold is a story which spans millennia‎,‎ however scientists have recently found a new interest for gold when it is divided into miniscule grains‎,‎ such as gold nanoparticles‎.‎ This scientific enthusiasm started in various fields of science in the middle of the 1980s and the present book offers a panorama of the major scientific achievements obtained with gold nanoparticles‎.‎Various topics are reviewed such as‎:‎ gold nanoparticle preparation methods‎,‎ their plasmon resonance and thermo‎-optical properties‎,‎ their catalytic properties‎,‎ their use in biology and medicine as well as their possible toxicity and‎,‎ finally‎,‎ their future technological applications‎.‎ The book also contains an in‎-depth study of the use of gold nanoparticles throughout the ages‎,‎ starting from times where the concept of nanoparticles was beyond the realm of human imagination‎.‎ All these topics are presented by world‎-class scientists within a set of self‎-contained chapters‎.‎This book may be used as an advanced textbook by graduate students and scientists who need an introduction to gold nanoparticles‎.‎ It is also suitable for experts in the related areas of chemistry‎,‎ biology‎,‎ material science‎,‎ optics and physics‎,‎ who are interested in broadening their knowledge and who wish to have an overview of the subject‎.‎ Each chapter gradually leads the reader from the basics of a topic towards some of the current scientific challenges in the area‎.‎ The necessary background material to achieve a solid understanding of each topic and the scientific literature to go further in the field is provided‎.‎

• Author‎:‎ Catherine Louis ‎,‎ Olivier Pluchery
• Publisher‎:‎ Imperial College Press
• ISBN‎:‎ 9781848168060