J Nanopart Res (2022) 24:237

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-022-05609-x

PERSPECTIVES

A practical proposal for silver nanoparticles (Ag‑NPs)

separation by differential centrifugation
Alvaro López‑Rodríguez · Elsi Mejía‑Uriarte ·
Roberto Sato‑Berrú

Received: 7 May 2022 / Accepted: 26 October 2022 / Published online: 16 November 2022
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2022

Abstract The interaction of nanomaterials with bio- Keywords Centrifugation · Differential

molecules can be enhanced and amplified when the centrifugation · Silver nanoparticles · Synthesis by
nanomaterials have specific sizes and shapes; for this laser ablation · Nanobiotechnology
reason, a rapid discrimination/separation of the nano-
particles, at least in sizes, is necessary and important.
In this work, we show a practical proposal by using Introduction
centrifugation processes for the separation of silver
nanoparticles synthesized by laser ablation. By means Today, significant progress has been made in nano-
of a non-complex differential centrifugation process, material research, nanobiotechnology, and nanopho-
varying the rotational speed from 5000 to 25,000 rev- tonics, including the work on nanostructures, which is
olutions per minute (rpm), it was possible to separate relevant for the interaction of biological samples with
silver nanoparticles with an average size of 11 nm, nanomaterials. Research on metallic nanostructures
from a colloidal solution of nanoparticles with sizes is greatly encouraged due to the unique properties
within a range between 8 and 120 nm. Addition- of nanosized materials. These properties are highly
ally, a simple decay mathematical relationship was dependent on the size and shape of the nanoparticle
determined and proposed, as a first approximation, [1–9]. It is well known that nanomaterials behave very
where the diameter of the nanoparticles is inversely differently from bulk materials; fine tuning of nano-
proportional to the exponential function of the cen- particle properties can only be possible when they
trifugation speed. Here, we have reduced the degree are monodispersed and structure–property relation-
of polydispersity of the silver colloids, in which the ships can be understood. Numerous techniques have
nanoparticles were separated by high centrifugation been designed to generate nanoparticles; chemical
using a Hermle centrifuge, model Z36HK. synthesis methods include coprecipitation methods,
sol–gel methods, and solvothermal processes [10].
Physical approaches, such as pulsed-laser deposition
[11], mechanosynthesis [12], and flame spray pyroly-
sis [13], are also used to synthesize nanoparticles. In
A. López‑Rodríguez (*) · E. Mejía‑Uriarte ·
R. Sato‑Berrú comparison with these methods, pulsed laser ablation
Instituto de Ciencias Aplicadas y Tecnología, Universidad in liquids possesses fundamental advantages because
Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior S/N, it combines the physical processes of the laser-mat-
Ciudad Universitaria, A.P. 70‑186, Delegación Coyoacán,
ter interaction with chemical mechanisms due to the
C.P. 04510, CDMX Mexico City, México
e-mail: [email protected] use of liquid solvents. Among all these synthesis

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techniques, the one that offers a great challenge, due industrial centrifuges [35], types of industrial centri-
to its high polydispersity, is the laser ablation tech- fuges and applications of centrifugation in the phar-
nique [14, 15]. This technique provides us with the maceutical industry, and other references [36]. The
opportunity to generate colloids that will help us to motion of a particle in a centrifugal field is described
demonstrate the proposal of this work. Addition- by a vectorial summation of the forces acting on the
ally, the synthesis of nanoparticles by laser ablation particle and Newton’s second law [37]. If the size
is used to obtain stable nanoparticles in water, which of particles is less than 5 µm, they undergo Brown-
does not need stabilizing molecules or other chemi- ian motion; in such suspension, a stronger centrifugal
cals. The obtained nanoparticles are highly available force is applied to separate the particles. The g-force
for further functionalization or can be used wherever acting on particles is exponential to the speed of rota-
unprotected metal nanoparticles are found, such as tion. Doubling the speed of rotation increases the
in biosensors or the SERS (surface-enhanced Raman centrifugal force by a factor of four. The centrifugal
spectroscopy) technique. [16]. That is, properties of force also increases with the distance from the axis
the nanomaterials may strongly depend on the nano- of rotation. These two parameters are of considerable
particle size and shape [17]; for this reason, a rapid significance when selecting the appropriate centri-
discrimination and/or separation of the nanoparticles fuge. RCF can be calculated by using the following
by centrifugation or other techniques, at least in sizes, expression: RCF = 11.18 r (rpm/1000)2, where r is the
is necessary and important [18–31]. Differential sepa- maximum radius of rotor and rpm represents the rota-
ration is a centrifugal method based on the different tional speed in revolutions per minute [35].
sedimentation rates of the nanoparticles in a homoge- A large number of works can be found in the lit-
neous medium. By repeatedly centrifuging a suspen- erature about the centrifugation technique, and many
sion from a low speed to a high speed, the mixture of them show us its versatility and importance. For
will be gradually separated into two parts: the large example, Paramelle et al. carried out a study in
ones in the precipitate and the smaller ones in the which colloidal gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) or Ag-
supernatant [32]. This method is suitable for the sam- NPs were centrifuged for 90 min; 40 nm and 50 nm
ples which contain a big weight difference between nanoparticles were centrifuged at 1000 g, whereas
the fragments or the difference between sedimenta- 10 nm nanoparticles were centrifuged at 15,000 g
tion coefficients [33, 34]. [38]. On the other hand, in the work reported by
Centrifugation has proven to be a robust process Nabika and Deki, the ruby-red solution, which con-
for enhancing sedimentation by using thousands of tains silver nanorods, was obtained by centrifugation
times the gravitational acceleration of the Earth. at 8000 rpm for 30 min. [39]. S. Agnihotri used the
Centrifugation makes use of high-speed rotation to technique of centrifugation to remove the reducers
generate centrifugal acceleration acting on phases that did not react; in this case, the silver nanoparti-
with different densities. Under centrifugal accelera- cle suspensions were centrifuged at 12,000 rpm for
tion, heavier phases migrate to a location at a larger 15 min and washed three times, followed by redis-
radius (toward the container periphery), while lighter persion in deionized water and finally stored at 4 °C
phases are displaced to a location at a smaller radius [40]. Helmlinger and co-workers used ultracen-
(toward the axis of the container). A centrifuge uses trifugation systems to collect particles by ultracen-
centrifugal force (g-force) to isolate suspended par- trifugation (66,000 g, 30 min), and then wash these
ticles from their surrounding medium on either a particles with acetone and ultrapure water several
batch or a continuous-flow basis [1]. The force on times [41]. Finally, Park et al. propose that the cen-
the particles (compared to gravity) is called rela- trifugation method is more time-efficient for denser
tive centrifugal force (RCF). For example, a RCF of or larger nanoparticles because of the centrifugal
500 g indicates that the centrifugal force is 500 times force (12,225 g for 15–75 min). Once the phase trans-
greater than earthly gravitational force. Regarding fer to a certain organic solvent is complete, solvent
this, S.O. Majekodunmi presents an extensive review exchange to another organic solvent is possible with
on the basics and principle of centrifugation, classes a simple boiling method [42]. For these works, differ-
of centrifuges, types of centrifuge separations, differ- ent speeds, with arbitrary centrifugation times, were
ent types of density gradient media, classification of used to separate their nanomaterials.

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As can be seen, there is no research work whose obtained by transmission electron microscopy Jeol
objective has been merely the centrifugation proto- JEM2200FS (JEOL, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan), with spheri-
col. The existing work in which the aforementioned cal correction in the STEM mode using a high-angle
topic has been addressed has resulted in explanations annular dark field detector (HAADF), and the plas-
that may be complex and intricate, and thus, diffi- monic resonances were obtained with a Cary 5000
cult to understand. Here, we intend to provide some spectrophotometer. The Ag-NPs statistic in each
guidelines for the use of centrifugation with defined sample was acquired through TEM images with the
centrifugation speed and time that helps us to homog- Comptage de particules software version 2.0. The
enize the use of this nanoparticle separation method. dispersity index (D), which is a dimensionless num-
In summary, this work is a step-by-step guide in ber indicating the width of the size distribution (val-
the use of centrifugation systems, which is very use- ues range between 0 and 1), was also obtained from
ful for students and young researchers. We hope that the particle size measurement.
this text will fulfill the quest of knowledge render-
ing centrifuge system to biologists, biotechnologists, Separation of Ag‑NPs by differential centrifugation,
chemists, physicists, scientists, researchers, and prac- successive and cumulative process
ticing engineers. It also shows us the existence of a
trend and correlation between the sizes of nanomate- It is generally difficult to control the size of the Ag-
rials and the centrifugal force. Finally, we use a sim- NPs; hence, it is necessary to use techniques that help
ple mathematical relationship, which could be used us achieve a certain level of monodispersity after syn-
as a “size calibration curve” to extrapolate probable thesis. In this case, this is possible through a centrifu-
nanoparticle separation results with the knowledge of gation process carried out in a sequence of successive
some technical and initial data. steps and additively in terms of rotation speed and
duration time.
For the separation process, 18 ml of the colloid
Experimental section were divided into twelve 1.5-ml Eppendorf tubes,
which were centrifuged in multiple stages at different
Materials and methods speeds and successive and cumulative times. When
the centrifugation was completed, the content of each
Silver colloids were synthesized by the laser ablation Eppendorf tube was divided into three parts: (1) the
technique. The pulsed Nd:YAG laser from Quantel, bottom, which contained the settled and largest nano-
Q-smart 850 model (by Lumibird, Lannion, France), particles, which were separated and stored for further
with 1064 nm of wavelength, 10 Hz of repetition rate analysis; (2) The middle part, which was discarded
and 6 ns of pulse duration, was used for this experi- because it was considered the interface between two
ment. Silver material (1.00’’ Dia. X 0.125’’ Thick) systems, the sediment, and the supernatant; and (3)
from Lesker (PA, USA), 99.99% purity, was used the supernatant, which is used for the next centrifuga-
as the ablation target. Briefly, the laser beam was tion stage (Fig. 1).
focused on the silver surface, which was immersed The complete experimental protocol is described in
in a beaker with deionized water (12 ml). The abla- detail in the diagram shown in Fig. 2. Each of the stages
tion was carried out for a period of 480 s at a fre- is made up of several rounds of centrifugation. In stage
quency of 10 pulses/s. The target was ablated four 1, four rounds were carried out because there was a
times to obtain the silver colloid that was used for total of 72 ml of the original colloid to ensure that there
centrifugation. was enough material to obtain the necessary samples
For the centrifugation of colloids, a centrifuge Hermle and to be able to carry out the different analyzes with-
Labortechnik GmbH (Wehingen, Germany) with a rotor, out problems due to the insufficient amount of material
model 221.23V01, with a capacity for 12 tubes of 1.5 ml in the sample. From this first round, the original amount
and a maximum radius of 6.5 cm, was used. of material was decreased mainly due to the extrac-
To determine the particle size, each nanopar- tion of both the sedimented part and the part named
ticle suspension was analyzed with TEM images “interface.”

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Basic principles of sedimentation is dependent upon the applied centrifugal field G

(measured in cm ­s−2). G is determined by the radial
The effect of sedimentation due to the influence of distance, r, of the particle from the axis of rotation
the Earth’s gravitational field (g = 9.81 m ­s−2) ver- (in cm) and the square of the angular velocity, ω, of
sus increasing the sedimentation rate in a centrifu- the rotor (in radians per second): G = 𝜔2 x r .
gal field (G > 9.81 m ­s−2) is evident. The relative The average angular velocity of a rigid body that
centrifugal field is usually expressed as a multiple rotates around a fixed axis is defined as the ratio of
of the acceleration due to gravity. When designing the angular displacement in each time interval. One
a centrifugation protocol, it is important to keep in radian, usually abbreviated as 1 rad, represents the
mind that (1) the rate of particle sedimentation is angle subtended at the center of a circle by an arc
proportional to the particle size, (2) the sedimen- with length equal to the radius of the circle. Since
tation rate is proportional to the difference in den- 360° equals 2π radians, one revolution of the rotor
sity between the particle and the medium, (3) the can be expressed as 2π rad. Accordingly, the angular
sedimentation rate is zero when the particle density velocity of the rotor, given in rad ­s−1. Note that rad is
is the same as the medium density, (4) the sedi- treated as a scalar and is related to the rotor speed in
mentation rate decreases as the medium viscosity revolutions per minute (rpm = 1 ­min−1) by 𝜔 = 2𝜋v,
increases, and (5) the sedimentation rate increases and therefore, the centrifugal field can be expressed
as the gravitational force increases. When the con- as G = 4𝜋 2 v2 r , where the variable v is the rotor speed
ditions for the centrifugal separation of a nanomate- (measured in revolutions per minute) and r is the
rial are described, a detailed listing of rotor speed radial distance from the center of rotation. Note that
and radial dimensions of centrifugation must be 60 revolutions per minute is the same speed as one
provided. Essentially, the rate of sedimentation, v, revolution per second, i.e., rpm = 60 ­min−1 = 1 ­s−1.

Fig. 1  Schematic illustration of the differential centrifugation process

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Fig. 2  Sequential diagram of the five different stages of the centrifugation process

The centrifugal field is generally expressed in mul- )( r ) rpm 2

( )
tiples of the Earth’s gravitational field, g (9.81 m ­s−2). RCF = 1.12 × 10−5 (2)
(
1cm 1min−1
The relative centrifugal field, RCF (or g-force), is
the ratio of the centrifugal acceleration at a specified with r given in cm. The relative centrifugal force can
radius and the speed to the standard acceleration of easily be calculated and can often be displayed on mod-
gravity. The RCF can be calculated from the follow- ern instruments. In this job, the centrifugation protocol
ing equation: was carried out considering the properties of the rotor
and characteristics of the particles to be separated. The
G 4𝜋 2 v2 r
RCF = = (1) type of rotor used here is the one known as “fixed angle
g g
rotor”; this means that the fixed angle rotor is held at a
RCF units are therefore dimensionless as they constant angle during the whole centrifugation period,
denote multiples of the gravitational constant g. so this type of rotors are better suited for the separation
Grouping numerical constants together leads to a of particles with more distinct sedimentation coefficients
more convenient form of equation: [43]. It is important to note that each centrifuge, due to

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its maximum speed and rotor radius characteristics, has dispersity of sizes occurs, and nanoparticles with
a minimum separation size limit (d0). Since RCF values irregular shapes are generated. For this reason, a sep-
are subject to significant changes depending on the rotor aration by size of the nanoparticles was carried out,
radius (distance between the tube and the rotor axis), it which was controlled by the time and rotation speed
is important to understand that an increase in radius of the centrifugation system used.
simply caused by changes in rotor angulations and rotor Figure 3 shows the results obtained in which we
diameter has a dramatic effect on the RCF values [44]. can see the size distribution (i), the absorption spec-
For these reasons, it is important to have a basic under- tra (ii) and the STEM images (iii and iv), of the sedi-
standing of RCF values, including the calculations to mented (red) and supernatant (blue) nanoparticles in
obtain RCF-rpm by means of the mathematical expres- the centrifugation process.
sion shown above. To avoid confusions, we have shown The sample with the largest size dispersion was
the rpm-RCF equivalences used in our experiment. And the sample centrifuged at 1820 g (Fig. 3a–i). The
since these values are generally in the order of ­103, we absorption spectrum for the sedimented one, it shows
have proposed a scaling factor related to the RCF magni- an extremely long curve toward higher wavelengths
tudes to dampen the high values of the previously men- (Fig. 3a–ii), while for the supernatant, it shows a
tioned order. We denote this scaling factor as “a” because much narrower (almost symmetric curve) related
the centrifugal velocity is proportional to the rotation to the SPR; this indicates the bigger, and therefore,
radius of a particle and the radial coordinate of a particle heavier NPs were pelleted by the effect of centrifuga-
grows exponentially with time [16], which in our case, tion. It is observed that for the samples of sedimenta-
is closely related to the relative centrifugal force. In this tion, the peak of the SPR is at 404 nm and that the
sense, different classes of centrifuges can be established peak of the quadrupole is at approximately 350 nm.
based on their speed: (a) low speed centrifuge, with For a better visualization, the sedimented sample was
maximum speed up to 10,000 rpm (7,000 g); (b) high separated in two regions: region I, with the sizes of
speed centrifuge, with maximum speed up to 28,000 rpm Ag-NPs placed between 10 and 60 nm, and region II,
(100,000 g); and (c) ultra-high-speed centrifuge, with with Ag-NPs diameters up to approximately 120 nm;
maximum speed up to 150,000 rpm (900,000 g). there are no Ag-NPs smaller than 8 nm. This is cor-
On the other hand, we propose an exponential roborated by STEM images (Fig. 3a–iii); the main
expression based on our experimental design to deter- geometry is spherical, but there are also other shapes
mine the average diameter, “d”, of Ag-NPs as a func- like rounded triangular and icosahedral, as can be
tion of the RCF that can be obtained from a mixture of seen in the respective STEM image and in Fig. 3a–iv
Ag-NPs, mostly spherical or semi-spherical and with a for the supernatant sample, most sizes being between
size distribution between the 10 and 120 nm: 8 and 26 nm in diameter.
A considerable decrease in the range of size dis-
d = Ae−ax + d0 (3) tribution can be observed for the sample sedimented
where a is a scaling factor, x is the relative centrifu- at 7270 g (Fig. 3b–i). As can be seen, there is a nota-
gal force, d0 is a standard value representing the small- ble difference between the SPR curve correspond-
est particle size that the centrifugation equipment can ing to the sedimentation (Fig. 3b–ii) with respect to
separate, and A is an experimental value associated the sedimentation of the previous stage (Fig. 3a–ii).
with the synthesis and established from the colorimet- Now, the curve is significantly narrower than its prec-
ric data observed in the colloid (x, y, Y), mainly consid- edent, which is interpreted as the absence of the larg-
ering the relation (100-Y), where Y corresponds to the est NPs. In addition, the size distribution of Ag-NPs
intensity of the color. varies mainly from 10 to 30 nm, with the largest
population placed between 15 and 25 nm. In this
case, the histogram was adjusted to a chi-square dis-
Data treatment and evaluation tribution, from which the average was obtained. A
STEM image shows that most of the NPs are spheri-
The synthesized Ag-NPs were obtained by laser abla- cal in shape but still have faceted structures, mainly
tion. An advantage of using this method is that naked the largest ones (Fig. 3b–iii). The presence of these
Ag-NPs are obtained; the disadvantage is that high faceted shapes could be reflected in the results of the

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Fig. 3  (i) Size distribution, (ii) absorption spectra, (iii) (blue) proceeding from five stages of the centrifugation pro-
STEM image of sedimented sample and (iv) STEM image cess: a 1820 g/5 min, b 7270 g/10 min, c 16,350 g/15 min, d
of supernatant sample of the Ag-NPs corresponding to the 29,060 g/20 min, and e 45,410 g/25 min
comparison between the sediments (red) and supernatants

following stages of the process of size selection and greater presence between 12 and 16 nm, while for
separation by centrifugation. In the supernatant sam- the supernatant sample, the distribution range is
ple in Fig. 3b–iv, the main distribution is between 14 between 8 and 22 nm in diameter, with a greater pres-
and 20 nm. ence between 12 and 14 nm. This can also be seen
For the centrifugation at 16,350 g for 15 min, the in the STEM images, in which uniformity in the size
narrowing in the size distribution (Fig. 3c–i) for the of Ag-NPs from the sedimented sample is noticeable
sedimented sample varies from 8 to 30 nm, with a (Fig. 3c–iii). Whereas for the supernatant sample, a

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decrease in the size dispersion and concentration of [45], unlike the first samples in which the concen-
NPs is observed (Fig. 3c–iv). The SPR curve of the tration was much higher, which meant an opacity of
sedimented sample has a displacement at its peak the spherical majority over the minority with faceted
toward a position of 406 nm (Fig. 3c–ii). form.
In samples resulting from the centrifugation pro- Table 1 shows the average diameters (Save and
cess at 29,060 g, the range of size distribution does Fave) and the D corresponding to the Ag-NPs sam-
not exceed 25 nm (Fig. 3d–i), having its greater dis- ples (DS and FS), both sedimented and supernatant
tribution between 10 and 15 nm for the sedimented respectively, obtained from the different centrifuga-
sample (Fig. 3d–iii), and for the supernatant sample, tion speeds. This index is dimensionless and scaled
the largest size distribution is between 10 and 12 nm such that values smaller than 0.05 are mainly seen
(Fig. 3d–iv). The SPR curves show a very small dif- with highly monodisperse standards. D values big-
ference in the position of the peak (Fig. 3d–ii), being ger than 0.7 indicate that the sample has a very broad
at 403 nm for the supernatant and at 401 nm for sedi- particle size distribution and is probably not suitable
mentation showing a great uniformity in the distribu- to be analyzed by the dynamic light scattering (DLS)
tion of sizes, in addition to a higher concentration of technique, which offers good statistics with respect to
Ag-NPs compared to the supernatant sample. the in situ measurements of the size and D of nano-
Finally, for the centrifugation at 45,410 g, the size carriers, and it allows particle sizing down to 1 nm in
distribution (Fig. 3e–i), SPR curves (Fig. 3 e–ii), diameter [46–48].
STEM images for sedimentation (Fig. 3e-iii), and As can be seen, even though originally there was a
STEM images for the supernatant (Fig. 3e-iv), it is wide distribution of sizes, the largest D values do not
possible to observe a great uniformity in the sizes reach the value of 0.7, necessary to consider a wide
of the Ag-NPs, ranging from 6 to 18 nm and having distribution of sizes; and for the 4th and 5th centrif-
the greatest distribution between 9 and 14 nm. For ugation stages, the D value is less than 0.05, which
supernatants, the distribution of sizes is similar to indicates a significative monodispersity.
the shown for the sedimented samples. This can be Figure 4 shows the trend corresponding to the
explained based on the characteristics of the model particle size obtained as a function of the centrifu-
of the centrifuge used; that is, the maximum centrifu- gation rate for both the sedimented and supernatants
gation speed limits of such a centrifuge are not suffi- samples. For the parameter A, different values are
cient to pellet the smaller Ag-NPs, for example, those assumed to represent different situations in which the
smaller than 12 nm. largest size of Ag-NPs that is present in a hypotheti-
As explanation, although most of the geom- cal colloidal solution would change. And the d0 value
etries present in the samples are spherical shapes, remains fixed at 10, since this value was taken as a
and despite the reduction in the size distribution, base, considering it as the minimum size of Ag-NPs
due to the process, the concentration of Ag-NPs has that can be obtained by means of the centrifugation
decreased with each centrifugation stage; thus, in the equipment used, and that was established from aver-
last centrifugation processes (processes d and e in aging the sizes of the group of Ag-NPs resulting from
Fig. 3), the presence of other geometries is noticeable, the last centrifugation step.
such as those with faceted shapes consistent with the Based on our results, and considering the dif-
absorption peaks of the bands previously mentioned ferent trends tested, the proposed expression was

Table 1  Experimental Stage Factors Responses

design table for the factors
and responses RCF (g) v (rpm) t (min) Save (nm) DS Fave (nm) DF

1st 1820 5000 5 31 0.332 15 0.137

2nd 7270 10,000 10 21 0.134 17 0.088
3rd 16,350 15,000 15 15 0.075 14 0.063
4th 29,060 20,000 20 12 0.036 12 0.041
5th 45,410 25,000 25 11 0.0395 12 0.0416

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Fig. 4  Trend lines given by changing the values of A compared with the size distributions obtained by means of the different cen-
trifugation steps for the a sedimented and b supernatant samples

rethought, with the same structure, but numerical Conclusions

values established for each parameter in the equa-
tion are as follows: This work demonstrates a viable procedure to selec-
tively separate Ag-NPs with different diameters by
d = 40e−0.0001x + 10 means of a successive process, by increasing time and
where the parameter A could take a value of 40 speed of centrifugation, managing to separate Ag-
or 50 between the different tested settings; the scal- NPs of approximately 11 nm in diameter from a col-
ing factor a = 0.0001 is due to the order of mag- loidal solution whose size distribution varies between
nitude ­103 of the RCF; and the value d0 = 10 is 8 and almost 120 nm. Ag-NPs obtained were synthe-
because it is considered as the minimum size that sized by laser ablation, a technique by which naked
can settle with the maximum speed in the centrifu- Ag-NPs can be obtained since the use of any reduc-
gation equipment used. ing agent is not necessary, which makes them feasible
For example, considering a centrifuge with the for catalysis applications, among others. In addition,
parameters (maximum speed = 12,000 rpm, rotor we proposed a mathematical expression based on the
radius = 6.5 cm, and maximum separation capacity experimental results obtained, which will help orient
of 15 nm) in an approximate way, we could deter- ourselves regarding what is the RCF necessary to sep-
mine the probable size of the nanoparticles that arate Ag-NPs with a desired size distribution.
we could separate between 8000 and 10,000 rpm, In summary, we have successfully obtained rela-
which would be between 30 and 40 nm. Another tively pure Ag-NPs by an easy centrifugation method.
example, using a homemade centrifuge (paperfuge) The present separation method by centrifugation is
which can reach a maximum speed = 25,000 rpm, simple, rapid, and effective. It can also be used for
radius = 5 cm, and a maximum separation capac- separation and purification of other metal nanomate-
ity of 15 nm, we could calculate sizes of separated rials with different sizes. Furthermore, the assemblies
larger particles. Therefore, we believe that it is a of monodispersed Ag-NPs obtained in this work have
viable and helpful proposal for research groups that great potential applications including sensors and
do not have centrifugation equipment. electronic devices.

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versity Laboratory for Spectroscopy Characterization (LUCE- spray pyrolysis. J Aerosol Sci 33(2):369–389
ICAT-UNAM); and National Laboratory for Nanotechnology 14. Amendola V, Meneghetti M (2009) Laser ablation synthe-
(NANOTECH), Chihuahua-Mexico. CONACYT grant. sis in solution and size manipulation of noble metal nano-
particles. Phys Chem Chem Phys 11:3805
Declarations 15. Zeng H, Du XW, Singh SC, Kulinich SA, Yang S, He J,
Cai W (2012) Nanomaterials via laser ablation/irradiation
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phase, J Phys Chem B 107 (35) to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional
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trolled silver nanoparticles synthesized over the range
5–100 nm using the same protocol and their antibacterial
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holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing
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is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement
toxicity, but different antibacterial effects. RSC Adv
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