A simple one-step method for the electrochemical deposition of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) onto bare indium tin oxide film coated glass substrate without any template or surfactant was investigated. The effect of electrolysis conditions such as potential range, temperature, concentration and deposition cycles were examined. The connectivity of GNPs was analyzed by UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The nanoparticles were found to connect in pairs or to coalesce in larger numbers. The twin GNPs display a transverse and a longitudinal localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) band, which is similar to that of gold nanorods. The presence of longitudinal LSPR band correlates with high refractive index sensitivity. Conjugation of the twin-linked GNPs with albumin bovine serum-biotin was employed for the detection of streptavidin as a model based on the specific binding affinity in biotin/streptavidin pairs. The spectrophotometric sensor showed concentration-dependent binding for streptavidin. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.