Non-toxic nanoparticles

A University of Missouri (MU) research team has shown that it is possible to create nanoparticles without producing synthetic chemicals that have negative impacts on the environment.

Kattesh Katti, professor of radiology and physics in MU's School of Medicine and College of Arts and Science, said: 'This new procedure to create nanoparticles is wonderfully simple, yet it will help create very complex components.'

The MU research team, which was led by Katti, Raghuraman Kannan and Kavita Katti, found that by submersing gold salts in water and then adding soybeans, gold nanoparticles were generated.

The water pulls a phytochemical out of the soybean that is effective in creating the nanoparticles. A second phytochemical from the soybean, also drawn out by the water, interacts with the nanoparticles to stabilise them and prevent them from fusing with the particles nearby.

This process creates nanoparticles that are uniform in size in a process that is 100 per cent green. No toxic waste is generated.