The resputtering of gold films from nano-holes defined in a sacrificial PMMA mask, which was made by electron beam lithography, was carried out with a dry plasma etching tool in order to form well-like structures with a high aspect ratio (height/width ≈ 3-4) at the rims of the nano-holes. The extraordinary transmission through the patterns of such nano-wells was investigated experimentally and ...

Prefabricated nano-scale structures in which gold electrodes are separated by an insulating core permit self-assembly of a single string "molecular necklace" around its circumference; these devices require no further invasive metal deposition following molecular insertion and exhibit symmetrical current-voltage (I-V) curves that mimic those of self-assembled films on planar substrates.

The controlled in situ growth of ordered gold nanoparticles and nanowire arrays has been studied by optically tracking changes in the local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) spectrum. A spectrometer and custom-programmed analysis software track changes in the LSPR spectrum. The peak position, peak height (i.e. extinction intensity) and peak width (e.g. radius of curvature) were tracked over time...

Compared to freestanding nanoparticles, supported nanostructures typically show better mechanical stability as well as ease of handling. Unique shapes such as core-shells, raspberries and crescents have been developed on supported materials to gain improved chemical and optical properties along with versatility and tunability. We report the formation of hyper-branched gold structures on silica ...

Metal nanoparticles decorated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) can lead to considerable enhancement in sensing performance towards different gas analytes, however the sensing mechanism was not clearly elucidated. The detailed sensing mechanism of hybrid gold-SWNT nanostructures toward hydrogen sulfide was investigated using field effect transistor (FET) transfer characteristics. At low H2...

Optical nano-antennae have been integrated with semiconductor lasers to intensify light at the nanoscale and photodiodes to enhance photocurrent. In quantum optics, plasmonic metal structures have been used to enhance nonclassical light emission from single quantum dots. Absorption and detection of single photons from free space could also be enhanced by nanometallic antennae, but this has not ...

Nanomaterial-directed, photothermal ablation is a practical future approach for the treatment of early-stage bladder cancer. Using a new PEGylation technique with bi-functional nitrophenyl carbonate PEG (bi-NPC-PEG) that promotes uniform suspension of the nanomaterial in solution, we have shown that gold nanorods conjugated to an anti-EGFR antibody (nano-alphaEGFR) bind effectively to EGFR-expr...

A gold nanorod-locked nucleic acid nano-biosensor for dynamic single-cell gene expression analysis in living cells and tissues is developed. The nanoparticle facilitates endocytic delivery and dynamic monitoring of the gene expression in human umbilical cord endothelial cells, mouse skin tissues, mouse retina tissues, and mouse cornea tissues at the single-cell level.

Here we report a peptide directed synthesis of co-shell nanocables by sequential guide formation of silica insulating shells on metallic gold nanoribbons which is significant since it demonstrated the ability to fabricate a functional nano-electronic component using a biomimetic method.

Dynamic switching of plasmonic monolayers built of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) is achieved using nano-coatings of poly(isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAM). The distance between AuNPs can be dynamically tuned through the repeatable expansion and contraction of the PNIPAM shells at different temperatures, which results in rapid switching of the optical properties of the AuNP monolayer.