Gold number


Gold Number is the number of milligrams of a protective colloid which prevents the coagulation of 10 ml of a standard hydro gold sol,on coagulation changes from red to blue, which is prevented by a protective colloid.
of 1ml 10% NaCl solution. , page
Coagulation of gold sol is indicated by colour change from red to blue/purple when particle size just increases. More is the gold number, less is the protective power of the lyophilic colloid since it means that the amount required is more. It was first used by Richard Adolf Zsigmondy. The amount is taken in terms of weight in milligrams.
The gold number of some colloids are given below.
Protective ColloidsGold Number
Gelatin0.005-.01
Haemoglobin0.03-0.07
Egg Albumin0.15-0.25
Potato Starch20-25
Gum arabic0.15-0.25
Caseinate0.01-0.02
Sodium Oleate1-5
Dextrin125-150