A large-area and high-density Au nanoparticle array (NPA) has been fabricated using highly ordered dimpled Ta (DT) templates. The array, with one Au nanoparticle (NP) per dimple, was formed by exploiting the instability of very thin (<5 nm) films of Au at elevated temperatures, inducing the self-assembly of the Au NPs into an ordered structure mirroring that of the DT template. It is shown that the Au NPs can be electrochemically addressed, without interference from the underlying Ta oxide film, and that they are very stable, even in acidic media. In terms of their electroanalytical applications, cyclic voltammetry of the DT-supported Au NPA in neutral solutions containing [Fe(CN)(6)](3-) showed nanoelectrode array behavior at very high scan rates, while coating of the Au NP array with glucose oxidase resulted in a significantly higher glucose oxidation signal than seen at a smooth Au surface, making the NPA quite promising as a glucose sensor. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.