Tiny particles of gold could soon be helping to spot viruses, bacteria and toxins used by bio-terrorists.
Researchers in the UK have found that gold nanoparticles are very effective detectors of biological toxins.
The particles reveal the presence of poisons far faster than existing techniques which often involve shipping samples back to a lab.
The aim is to integrate the technology in a portable device that could give instant answers at crime scenes.
Colour Chemistry
Led by Professor David Russell, researchers at the University of East Anglia are studying ways to use the nanoparticles as a detector of dangerous biological substances.
The research makes use of gold nanoparticles that are only 16 nanometres in diameter - roughly 1/5000th the width of a human hair.
Earlier work by Professor Russell's team has refined manufacturing methods so relatively large amounts of the particles can be made quickly.
Once made, the particles are coated with sugars tailored to detect different biological substances.
When mixed with a weak solution of the sugar-coated nanoparticles, the target substance, be it a poison such as ricin or a bug like E.coli, binds to the sugar. This changes the properties of the solution and makes it change colour.
Professor Russell said pure solutions of the gold nanoparticles are a strong red colour but instantly change to blue when the target substance is present.
He said work had been done with solutions of particles tailored for just one toxin as well as mixtures that combined nanoparticles tailored to spot different substances.
The scientist said colour changes were less dramatic with mixtures of nanoparticles but were still significant enough to easily spot. The extent of the colour change can also reveal how much of particular toxins were present.
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