Mapping the relationship between total and functional antibodies conjugated to nanoparticles with spectrally-resolved direct stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (SR-dSTORM).

Antibody-functionalized nanoparticles (NPs) have shown numerous benefits in drug delivery and biosensing, improving the specificity of cell targeting and analyte detection, respectively. However, one of the main challenges is the lack of control over antibody orientation on the NP surface. Popular and easy conjugation strategies, such as carbodiimide-based conjugations, lead to a random orientation of antibodies on the NPs, compromising ligand functionality and contributing to undesired biological effects and reduced target recognition.

Spatially Resolved Sensitivity of Single-Particle Plasmon Sensors.

The high sensitivity of localized surface plasmon resonance sensors to the local refractive index allows for the detection of single-molecule binding events. Though binding events of single objects can be detected by their induced plasmon shift, the broad distribution of observed shifts remains poorly understood. Here, we perform a single-particle study wherein single nanospheres bind to a gold nanorod, and relate the observed plasmon shift to the binding location using correlative microscopy.