Facile Fabrication of Gold Nanoparticles with Ethambutol

Abstract

Ethambutol, an antituberculosis drug, was used as a reducing agent in the fabrication of gold nanoparticles via a one-step, one-pot process. The resulting pink-colored colloidal solution exhibited the characteristic surface plasmon resonance band at 529 nm, which clearly indicated the presence of gold nanoparticles. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy images revealed spherical nanoparticles with an average diameter of 45.95 ± 7.21 nm. High-resolution X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the face-centered cubic structure of gold nanoparticles. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed that the prepared product consisted of 30.5% organic components and 69.5% gold nanoparticles. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed that hydroxyl and amine functional groups contributed to the fabrication process. The colloidal stability assessment indicated that the prepared gold nanoparticles retained the λ max of the surface plasmon resonance band and their hydrodynamic size up to 28 days in cell culture medium. This synthetic strategy affords the possibility of using gold nanoparticles as an ethambutol delivery vehicle through a facile, one-step process.