Web Release Date: August 24,
Separation of Nanoparticles by Gel Electrophoresis According to Size and Shape
Institute for Physical Chemistry, University of Mainz, Jakob-Welder-Weg 11, 55128 Mainz, Germany
Received July 5, 2007
Revised August 4, 2007

Abstract:
We demonstrate the separation of gold and silver nanoparticles according to their size and shape by agarose gel electrophoresis after coating them with a charged polymer layer. The separation is monitored optically using the size- and shape-dependent plasmon resonance of noble metal particles and confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Electrophoretic mobilities are quantitatively explained by a model based on the Henry formula, providing a theoretical framework for predicting gel mobilities of polymer coated nanoparticles.
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