Patent ID: 7906147

Claim:
A composition comprising: a nanoparticle comprising at least one metal in the core of the nanoparticle, the at least one metal selected from titanium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, zirconium, molybdenum, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, silver, cadmium, tungsten, rhenium, osmium, iridium, platinum, gold, aluminum, and bismuth, provided that the core of the nanoparticle does not contain iron; the nanoparticle coated with a bilayer of molecules held together by hydrophobic interactions, wherein the bilayer of molecules is formed from: (a) a monolayer of surface binding molecules in direct contact with the nanoparticle, comprising: (i) a hydrophobic moiety; and (ii) a binding moiety having an affinity for the nanoparticle, the binding moiety selected from a thiol moiety, a thiolate moiety, a carboxylate moiety of an unsaturated fatty acid or combinations thereof; and (b) a layer of amphiphatic molecules that is different from the surface binding molecules.