Self-Assembly of Nanodiamonds and Plasmonic Nanoparticles for Nanoscopy.

Nanodiamonds have emerged as promising agents for sensing and imaging due to their exceptional photostability and sensitivity to the local nanoscale environment. Here, we introduce a hybrid system composed of a nanodiamond containing nitrogen-vacancy center that is paired to a gold nanoparticle via DNA hybridization. Using multiphoton optical studies, we demonstrate that the harmonic mode emission generated in gold nanoparticles induces a coupled fluorescence emission in nanodiamonds.

Nonspecific Binding-Fundamental Concepts and Consequences for Biosensing Applications.

Nature achieves differentiation of specific and nonspecific binding in molecular interactions through precise control of biomolecules in space and time. Artificial systems such as biosensors that rely on distinguishing specific molecular binding events in a sea of nonspecific interactions have struggled to overcome this issue. Despite the numerous technological advancements in biosensor technologies, nonspecific binding has remained a critical bottleneck due to the lack of a fundamental understanding of the phenomenon.

Dark-Field Microwells toward High-Throughput Direct miRNA Sensing with Gold Nanoparticles.

MicroRNA (miRNA) is a class of short RNA that is emerging as an ideal biomarker, as its expression level has been found to correlate with different types of diseases including diabetes and cancer. The detection of miRNA is highly beneficial for early diagnostics and disease monitoring. However, miRNA sensing remains difficult because of its small size and low expression levels.

Monolayer Graphene Coupled to a Flexible Plasmonic Nanograting for Ultrasensitive Strain Monitoring.

Plasmonically coupled graphene structures have shown great promise for sensing applications. Their complex and cumbersome fabrication, however, has prohibited their widespread application and limited their use to rigid, planar surfaces. Here, a plasmonic sensor based on gold nanowire arrays on an elastomer with an added graphene monolayer is introduced.

Fast and Versatile Multiscale Patterning by Combining Template-Stripping with Nanotransfer Printing.

Metal nanostructures are widely used in plasmonic and electronic applications due to their inherent properties. Often, the fabrication of such nanostructures is limited to small areas, as the processing is costly, low-throughput, and comprises harsh fabrication conditions. Here, we introduce a template-stripping based nanotransfer printing method to overcome these limitations.

Iodide sensing via electrochemical etching of ultrathin gold films.

Iodide is an essential element for humans and animals and insufficient intake is still a major problem. Affordable and accurate methods are required to quantify iodide concentrations in biological and environmental fluids. A simple and low cost sensing device is presented which is based on iodide induced electrochemical etching of ultrathin gold films.