Gold nanorods as novel nonbleaching plasmon-based orientation sensors for polarized single-particle microscopy

Carsten Sönnichsen; A Paul Alivisatos

doi:10.1021/nl048089k

Gold nanorods as novel nonbleaching plasmon-based orientation sensors for polarized single-particle microscopy

Nano Lett. 2005 Feb;5(2):301-4. doi: 10.1021/nl048089k.

Authors

Carsten Sönnichsen¹, A Paul Alivisatos

Affiliation

¹ Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.

PMID: 15794615
DOI: 10.1021/nl048089k

Abstract

By monitoring the polarized light scattering from individual gold nanorods in a darkfield microscope, we are able to determine their orientation as a function of time. We demonstrate time resolution of milliseconds and observation times of hours by observing the two-dimensional rotational diffusion of gold rods attached to a glass surface. The observed orientational diffusion shows a fast component of about 60 ms and "sticky times" of seconds. The large signal-to-noise ratio, chemical and photochemical stability, fast time response, and small size of these gold nanorods make them an ideal probe for orientation sensing in material science and molecular biology.

Publication types

Evaluation Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Gold / analysis
Gold / chemistry*
Microscopy, Polarization / methods*
Molecular Probe Techniques*
Nanotechnology / methods*
Nanotubes / chemistry*
Nanotubes / ultrastructure*
Particle Size
Surface Plasmon Resonance / methods*

Substances

Gold