Synthesis of GoldMag particles with assembled structure and their applications in immunoassay

Micrometer-sized Fe3O4 particles and nano-sized gold particles were first synthesized by methods of self-aggregation of surface-chemically modified Fe3O4 nanoparticles and citrate reduction of the Au3+ to Au-0, respectively. Interaction between these two types of particles resulted in the assembly of nano-sized gold particles on the surface of the micrometer-sized Fe3O4 particles, forming an assembled structure with the Fe3O4 core particles around which are attached nano-sized gold particles. The Fe3O4/Au structure is named GoldMag particles with assembled structure. The synthetic process, structure, and magnetic property of the GoldMag particles were analyzed. GoldMag particles with assembled structure have an irregular shape, rough surface with a diameter of 2-3 pm. These particles exhibit the superparamagnetic property with saturated magnetization of 41 A(.)m(2)/kg. In a single step, antibodies could be readily immobilized onto the surface of the particles with a high binding capacity. The GoldMag particles can be used as a novel carrier in immunoassays. The maximum quantity of human IgG immobilized onto GoldMag particles was 330 mu g/mg. In order to validate the quality of the GoldMag particles as immunoassay carriers, an immunoassay system was used. The relative amount of immobilized human IgG was measured by HRP-labeled anti human IgG. The coefficient of variation within parallel samples of each group was below 6% and the coefficient of variation of means between five groups carried out separately was below 7%. Based on the sandwich method, the Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) were also analyzed by qualitative and quantitative detection, respectively. The result indicated that the GoldMag particles with assembled structure were an ideal carrier in immunoassay.