Reliable methods for silica coating of Au nanoparticles.

The inherent properties of silica, such as optical transparency, high biocompatibility, chemical and colloidal stability, controllable porosity, and easy surface modification, provide silica materials with a tremendous potential in biomedicine. Therefore, the coating of Au nanoparticles with silica largely contributes to enhance the important applications of metal nanoparticles in biomedicine. We describe in this chapter a number of reliable strategies that have been reported for silica coating of different types of Au nanoparticles. All descriptions are based on tested protocols and are expected to provide a reference for scientists with an interest in this field.