@article{2959202,
    title = "Gold-decorated graphene nanosheets composed of a biocompatible non-charged water-soluble polypeptide",
    author = "Manos Gkikas and Georgios V. Theodosopoulos and Biswa P. Das and Marina Tsianou and Hermis Iatrou and Georgios Sakellariou",
    journal = "European Polymer Journal",
    year = "2014",
    volume = "60",
    pages = "106--113",
    publisher = "ELSEVIER BV",
    issn = "0014-3057",
    doi = "10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2014.08.022",
    keywords = "Gold Nanoparticles;  Graphene nanosheets;  Graphene oxides;  L-proline",
    abstract = "Nanocomposite materials derived from carbon/polymer hybrids and metallic nanoparticles are of great interest due to the wide spectrum of potential applications. In this work, the biocompatible, non-charged and independent of pH, water soluble polypeptide, poly(L-proline) (PLP), was covalently grafted on exfoliated graphene oxide (GO) by a 'grafting to' approach, through the ring opening reaction of the surface epoxide species, enabling thus the simultaneous reduction and stabilization of as-synthesized gold nanoparticles in water in one-step, without any toxic by-product formation. The PLP-mediated GO nanocomposites serve as a new scaffold for metallic particles supported on a carbon matrix through the polypeptide mediation, and could give rise to multiple applications, in catalysis and cancer therapies. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."
}