Biological properties of “naked” metal nanoparticles☆

Over the past few decades, inorganic nanoparticles, which exhibit significantly distinct physical, chemical and biological properties from their bulk counterpart's, have elicited much interest. Discoveries in the past decade have demonstrated that the electromagnetic, optical and catalytic properties of noble-metal nanoparticles such as gold, silver and platinum, are strongly influenced by shape and size. This has motivated an upsurge in...