Table 1.

Overview of the gold nanoparticles used in this study

Sample	Surface coating	Zeta potential (mV) ±SD	Range size (nm)	Mean size ±SD (nm)	Polydispersity	Solvent	Surface plasmon resonance (nm)
SC-AuNPs	Sodium citrate 0.1%	−5±0.1	3–10	3±0.5	0.3	Water	520
CH-AuNPs	Chitosan 0.2%	+27±0.1	3–10	4±0.6	0.3	Water	520
SC-AuNPs	Sodium citrate 0.1%	−7±0.2	3–10	3±0.6	0.2	PBS	522
CH-AuNPs	Chitosan 0.2%	+22±0.2	3–10	4±0.5	0.2	PBS	522

Notes: Size, Z potential, and surface plasmon resonance of AuNPs were measured as stated in the “Materials and methods” section. AuNPs were diluted in water or PBS before the assessment of their physicochemical properties.

Abbreviations: CH-AuNPs, chitosan gold nanoparticles; PBS, phosphate buffered saline; SC-AuNPs, sodium citrate gold nanoparticles.