Observation of molecular diffusion in polyelectrolyte-wrapped SERS nanoprobes.

The popularity of nanotechnology-based sensing technologies has rapidly expanded within the past decade. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is one such technique capable of chemically specific and highly sensitive measurements. The careful preparation of SERS-active nanoprobes is immensely vital for biological applications where nanoprobes are exposed to harsh ionic and protein rich microenvironments.

Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy of Polyelectrolyte-Wrapped Gold Nanoparticles in Colloidal Suspension.

The rapidly expanding field of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has helped fuel an intense interest in noble metal nanoparticle synthesis. An in-suspension approach for quantifying SERS enhancement and relating that enhancement to a spontaneous Raman equivalent signal is described. Gold nanoparticles of various shapes were wrapped with polyelectrolyte multilayers that trapped Raman reporter molecules at defined distances from the metal core.

Competition Between Extinction and Enhancement in Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy.

Conjugated metallic nanoparticles are a promising means to achieve ultrasensitive and multiplexed sensing in intact three-dimensional samples, especially for biological applications, via surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). We show that enhancement and extinction are linked and compete in a collection of metallic nanoparticles. Counterintuitively, the Raman signal vanishes when nanoparticles are excited at their plasmon resonance, while increasing nanoparticle concentrations at off-resonance excitation sometimes leads to decreased signal.

Off-Resonant Two-Photon Absorption Cross-Section Enhancement of an Organic Chromophore on Gold Nanorods.

Surface-plasmon-initiated interference effects of polyelectrolyte-coated gold nanorods on the two-photon absorption of an organic chromophore were investigated. With polyelectrolyte bearing gold nanorods of 2,4,6 and 8 layers, the role of the plasmonic fields as function of distance on such effects was examined. An unusual distance dependence was found: enhancements in the two-photon cross-section were at a minimum at an intermediate distance, then rose again at a further distance.

A simple millifluidic benchtop reactor system for the high-throughput synthesis and functionalization of gold nanoparticles with different sizes and shapes.

Despite the continuing interest in the applications of functionalized nanomaterials, the controlled and reproducible synthesis of many important functionalized nanoparticles (NPs) above the milligram scale continues to be a significant challenge. The synthesis of functionalized NPs in automated reactors provides a viable approach to circumvent some of the shortcomings of traditional nanomaterial batch syntheses, providing superior control over reagent addition, improved reproducibility, the opportunity to interface real-time product monitoring, and a viable high-throughput synthetic approach. Here, we demonstrate the construction and operation of a simple millifluidic reactor assembled entirely from commercially available components found in almost any chemical laboratory.

High-index facets in gold nanocrystals elucidated by coherent electron diffraction.

Characterization of high-index facets in noble metal nanocrystals for plasmonics and catalysis has been a challenge due to their small sizes and complex shapes. Here, we present an approach to determine the high-index facets of nanocrystals using streaked Bragg reflections in coherent electron diffraction patterns, and provide a comparison of high-index facets on unusual nanostructures such as trisoctahedra. We report new high-index facets in trisoctahedra and previous unappreciated diversity in facet sharpness.

Off-resonance surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy from gold nanorod suspensions as a function of aspect ratio: not what we thought.

Design of nanoparticles for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) within suspensions is more involved than simply maximizing the local field enhancement. The enhancement at the nanoparticle surface and the extinction of both the incident and scattered light during propagation act in concert to determine the observed signal intensity. Here we explore these critical aspects of signal generation and propagation through experiment and theory.

Plasmonic enhancement of the two photon absorption cross section of an organic chromophore using polyelectrolyte-coated gold nanorods.

The effect of plasmonic enhancement on the two-photon absorption cross section of organic chromophores attached to polyelectrolyte-coated gold nanorods was investigated. The magnitudes of such enhancements were confirmed using single and two photon excitations of the chromophore molecules bound to polyelectrolyte-coated gold nanorods. By synthesizing two-, four-, six-, and eight-polyelectrolyte layer coated nanorods of a particular aspect ratio, the distance dependence of the evanescent electromagnetic field on molecular two-photon absorption was observed.