In the recent past, gold nanoparticles synthesized using pulsed laser ablation in biocompatible mediums has attracted scientific and technological interest. In this work, it is found that the gold nanoparticles prepared using laser ablation of gold target in water is inherently non-toxic. These particles have shown that they are photothermally active when excited with 532 nm laser line, in conjunction with the plasmon band. The surface charge of these nanoparticles is found to be negative. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements indicated the possibility of partial oxidation of the surfaces of these gold nanoparticles and electron micrographs indicated that the surfaces of these particles are relatively smooth. Raman measurements made with crystal violet as probe molecules using these nanoparticles as substrates and Raman spectra from L929 cells after incubation with these gold nanoparticles have shown that they can enhance the scattered Raman signal.