Relevant properties of gold nanoparticles, such as stability and biocompatibility, together with their peculiar optical and electronic behavior, make them excellent candidates for medical and biological applications. This review describes the different approaches to the synthesis, surface modification, and characterization of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) related to increasing their stability and available features useful for employment as drug delivery systems or in hyperthermia and photothermal therapy. The synthetic methods reported span from the well-known Turkevich synthesis, reduction with NaBH₄ with or without citrate, seeding growth, ascorbic acid-based, green synthesis, and Brust–Schiffrin methods. Furthermore, the nanosized functionalization of the AuNP surface brought about the formation of self-assembled monolayers through the employment of polymer coatings as capping agents covalently bonded to the nanoparticles. The most common chemical–physical characterization techniques to determine the size, shape and surface coverage of AuNPs are described underlining the structure–activity correlation in the frame of their applications in the biomedical and biotechnology sectors.

中文翻译：

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功能性金纳米粒子的合成、化学物理表征和生物医学应用：综述

金纳米粒子的相关特性，例如稳定性和生物相容性，以及其独特的光学和电子行为，使它们成为医学和生物应用的绝佳候选者。这篇综述描述了金纳米颗粒 (AuNP) 的合成、表面改性和表征的不同方法，这些方法涉及提高其稳定性以及可用作药物输送系统或热疗和光热治疗的可用功能。报道的合成方法包括著名的 Turkevich 合成、NaBH ₄还原（有或没有柠檬酸盐）、晶种生长、基于抗坏血酸的绿色合成和 Brust-Schiffrin 方法。此外，AuNP 表面的纳米级功能化通过使用聚合物涂层作为与纳米颗粒共价键合的封端剂，形成了自组装单层。描述了确定 AuNP 的尺寸、形状和表面覆盖度的最常见的化学物理表征技术，强调了其在生物医学和生物技术领域应用框架中的结构-活性相关性。