Plasmon-resonant gold nanorods have outstanding potential as multifunctional agents for image-guided therapies. Nanorods have large absorption cross sections at near-infrared (NIR) frequencies, and produce two-photon luminescence (TPL) when excited by fs-pulsed laser irradiation. The TPL signals can be detected with single-particle sensitivity, enabling nanorods to be imaged in vivo while passi...

Organic-inorganic hybrid molecular architectures utilizing self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of organic chromophores (e.g., acene derivatives) are systematically discussed to examine the photophysical properties together with covalently-linked dimeric and oligomeric forms. Multi-exciton generation (i.e., singlet fission) light energy conversion processes that occur in a reaction site composed ch...

Due to their well-defined plasmonic properties, gold nanorods (GNRs) can be fabricated with optimal light absorption in the near-infrared region of electromagnetic spectrum, which make them suitable for cancer-related theranostic applications. However, controversial safety profile, as a result surfactant stabilization during synthesis, limits clinical translation. We report facile method improv...

When irradiated at its resonance frequency, a metallic nanoparticle efficiently converts the absorbed energy into heat which is locally dissipated. This effect can be used in photothermal treatments, e.g., of cancer cells. However, to fully exploit the functionality of metallic nanoparticles as nanoscopic heat transducers, it is essential to know how the photothermal efficiency depends on param...

One-dimensional (1D) Ce-La nanorods with different La contents (Ce and La in the molar ratio of 1:0, 3:1, 1:1, 1:3, and 0:1) were synthesized by hydrothermal process. Au/Ce-La nanorod catalysts were obtained by a modified deposition-precipitation method. The samples were characterized by N2 adsorption-desorption (BET), ICP, X-ray diffraction (XRD), SEM, TEM, EDX, X-ray photoelectron spectroscop...

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 generatio...