Using Cinnamon In the Production of Nanoparticles

An anonymous reader writes "Scientists at the University of Missouri used cinnamon to replace almost all toxic chemicals needed for making gold nanoparticles used in electronics and healthcare products. Nanoparticle production requires the use of extremely dangerous and toxic chemicals. While the nanotechnology industry is expected to produce large quantities of useful nanoparticles in the near future, the entire production process could be detrimental to the environment."

Re:Not likely

[c0lo]

Here's a map [wikipedia.org] with the top world producers of Cinnamon in 2005. China has 10 yellow bubbles (=10% of the world's top producer) meaning in 2005 it produced 60,000 tones of cinnamon.

For comparison, the entire world's gold production of 2006 [wikipedia.org] was 2,310 tons.

Me thinks that the world risks running out of gold faster than China of cinnamon... but hey, I might be mistaken.

However, on another track, TFA says:

They mixed gold salts with a common spice – cinnamon – and stirred the mixture in water to synthesize gold nanoparticles.

Now, unless one finds a method to obtain gold salts by using plain cooking salt (Ok... I'll make a concession and allow capsicum powder as well), this step may require indeed the use of toxic chemicals.

Re:Not likely

[Khyber]

In my area of industry, chemically speaking there is a *HUGE* difference.

True cinnamon works as an insecticide.

Cassiabark extract does NOT.

Re:I hope it's true but:

[Bigjeff5]

I can't see how this process uses no electricity. How does the cinnamon and gold particles get together? how is the cinnamon remove?

Jeeze, did you read the damn thing? They mix gold salts and cinnamon in water and get gold nanoparticles.

There is no electricity because there is no electricity. It's a purely chemical process.

The "toxicity" part is bullshit...

[MagusSlurpy]

The actual article [springerlink.com] talks about how gold nanoparticles are often made with super-strong reducing agents like sodium borohydride and how this is awesomely bad for the environment.

What the article doesn't mention is who made the very first gold nanoparticles, or how they were made.

It was Michael Faraday (yes, that Faraday), who made them using a reducing agent called. . . phosphorus. Horribly toxic, world-destroying . . . Oh, wait, it's safe. Never mind.

There are 80 thousand ways to make AuNPs, the reason the strong reducing agents are usually used is because it's simply a quicker reaction, or because you want them there to activate something else you are sticking to the surface of the nanoparticle.

Now, the part about the cinnamon extracts stabilizing the AuNPs in physiological conditions, that might be more impressive - I'm not familiar with work in that area. But the toxicity part is nothing more than a cry for attention.