33 μm, and the length varied from 0.13 to 0.93 μm (Figure 5B). The aspect ratio is defined as the length divided by the width. The average aspect ratio was 1.47, with values ranging between 1.0 and 2.8. The largest observed block had a width of 0.33 μm, a length of 0.93 μm, and a maximum aspect ratio of 2.8 (Figure 5D). Murphy and co-workers reported that surfactants such as cetyltrimethylammonium

bromide or small ions act as structure-directing agents in the formation of anisotropic nanostructures [20]. We hypothesize that the structure-directing agents in the extracts likely induced the formation of anisotropic shapes during synthesis. We previously reported the presence of glycosaminoglycans in these earthworm extracts [15]. Glycosaminoglycans are water-soluble compounds with large negative charges that can act this website as structure-directing agents. Based on the interpretation of the FT-IR spectra, proteins/peptides are the likely other candidates. Figure 5 FE-SEM images of the EW-AuNPs. The scale Selleckchem Luminespib bar represents (A) 10 μm, (B) 1 μm, (C) 1 μm, and (D) 100 nm. Conclusions We report the green synthesis of AuNPs using aqueous earthworm extracts

as reducing agents to convert Au3+ to AuNPs and the characterization of these AuNPs. The reactions occurred in water without the use of any other toxic chemicals; thus, the resulting AuNPs were available for subsequent biological tests. Anisotropic NPs were observed in addition to the spherical NPs. We are unable to explain how the anisotropic NPs were generated, and this topic will be explored in future work. From the FT-IR spectra, we could conclude that the proteins/peptides in the extract were involved in the reduction of Au3+ and in the stabilization of the EW-AuNPs. In addition, the anticoagulant activity of heparin was reinforced when combined with the EW-AuNPs, which suggests that AuNPs are involved in the Meloxicam blood coagulation cascade. The current study demonstrates that the newly prepared AuNPs are promising candidates for novel gold nanomedicines. Acknowledgements This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of

Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government: the Ministry of Education (NRF-2012R1A1A2042224) and the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (NRF-2010-18282). References 1. Sperling RA, Rivera Gil P, Zhang F, Zanella M, Parak WJ: Biological applications of gold nanoparticles. Chem Soc Rev 2008, 37:1896–1908.CrossRef 2. Yeh YC, Creran B, Rotello VM: Gold nanoparticles: preparation, properties, and applications in bionanotechnology. Nanoscale 2012, 4:1871–1880.CrossRef 3. Dreaden EC, Alkilany AM, Huang X, Murphy CJ, El-Sayed MA: The golden age: gold nanoparticles for biomedicine. Chem Soc Rev 2012, 41:2740–2779.CrossRef 4. Park Y, Hong YN, Weyers A, Kim YS, Linhardt RJ: Polysaccharides and phytochemicals: a natural reservoir for the green synthesis of gold and silver nanoparticles. IET Nanobiotechnol 2011, 5:69–78.CrossRef 5.