Gold Nanoparticle Technology Overview

Gold nanoparticle probes possess several properties that make them ideal for diagnostic applications:

1. Allows increased sensitivity by several orders of magnitude; light scattered from one nanoparticle is equivalent to the light emitted from 5x10⁵ (500,000) fluorophores.  Tests that employ gold nanoparticles functionalized with antibodies, for example, are 2-3 orders of magnitude more sensitive than ELISA-based methods.
2. Enables high-specificity for both nucleic acid and protein detection.  For nucleic acid detection, single-base pair specificity is achieved due to assay reaction kinetics where gold nanoparticle probes, comprised of target-specific oligonucleotides, permit hybridization to target DNA over a very narrow temperature range.
3. Reduces background noise (i.e. signal-to-signal) due to minimal non-specific binding of the gold nanoparticle probes, which in turn, create an enhanced assay signal.
4. Requires little or no inventory control.  The nanoparticle probes are extremely stable, have a long shelf-life, and are non-toxic.