Topical progress of gold nanoparticles towards diverse metal ion sensing through optical spectrometry and electrochemical techniques – A short review

By possessing good thermal stability and minimal overall toxicity, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) appear to be the most effective of all metal nanoparticles (MNPs). Owing to their rapid and simple synthesis, size and shape effect, large surface area, strong adsorption ability, facile conjugation with analyte, excellent biocompatibility, conductivity, and catalytic properties, AuNPs have been used in the fields of catalysis, environmental remediation, healthcare therapy, etc. These properties are important for the detection of a wide range of analytes of interest, such as metal ions, hazardous pollutants, and so on. Metal ions are essential in an assortment of industries, as well as human biological functions and metabolism, so their detection and monitoring for everyday applications have garnered a lot of attention. AuNP-based sensors are expected to transform the practicalities of sensing and detecting various metal ions due to their tunable surface features. In this short review article, we focus on the application of AuNPs-based nanocomposites in metal ion sensing by employing spectrometry and electrochemical techniques. Additionally, a brief description of computational studies on the interaction of AuNPs-based composites with metal ions, biomolecules, and drugs has also been presented. Finally, we discussed the benefits and drawbacks of AuNPs-based sensors for the analyte of interest sensing using these methodologies, as well as future research possibilities.