Impact of the Aging of Ultrasmall Gold Nanoparticles on their Interaction with Cholesteric DNA Microparticles

The correlation between the time of preliminary storage of ultrasmall gold nanoparticles (GNPs) synthesized according to the Duff method and the structural aspects of their interaction with the particles of cholesteric liquid-crystalline dispersions (CLCDs) of DNA were studied. It has been established that the “age” of GNPs significantly affects the magnitude of their destructive action on the ordered organization of the DNA CLCD particles. The observed effect may be caused by both the gradual perfecting of the crystal lattice of the studied GNPs (i.e., their metallization) and the change in the chemistry of their surface over time.