Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) have been proposed as carriers for drugs to improve their intrinsic therapeutic activities and to overcome pharmacokinetic problems. In this study, novel nanosystems constituted by a model beta-diketo acid (DKA) grafted to the surface of GNPs were designed and synthesized following the "multivalent high-affinity" binding strategy. These first nanoscale DKA prototypes showed improved inhibition of HIV-1 integrase (HIV-1 IN) catalytic activities as compared with free DKA ligands.