Reductant, stabilizer-free colloidal gold solutions were fabricated by a new room-temperature synchrotron X-ray irradiation method. The influence of process parameters such as the pH value and the exposure time on the structure of gold nanoparticles was investigated. The mechanisms underlying the X-ray-triggered reduction of gold ions and the formation of gold clusters are discussed in detail. The X-ray irradiation derived highly concentrated gold nanoparticles are readily to be re-dispersed and possess suitable colloidal stability within cellular environment. The characterization included a study of the possible cytotoxicity for the EMT-6 tumor cell line: the negative results indicate that the gold clusters produced with our approach are biocompatible. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.