We describe differential interference contrast (DIC) polarization anisotropy for tracking rotational dynamics of gold nanorod (AuNR) probes. DIC polarization anisotropy enabled us to reveal the unidirectional clockwise circular translocation of an AuNR attached to a kinesin-driven microtubule and to precisely determine the real-time orientation of the AuNR during the dynamic process.

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.

Comprehensive studies for a periodic array of gold nanorod pairs demonstrate its unique optical properties, including a negative refractive index in the optical range. P ha se a ni so tr op y (∆ φ) , d eg re e A bs ol ut e ph as e sh ift ( δφ ), d eg re e Wavelength (λ), nm 40

Anisotropic gold nanorods provide a convenient combination of properties, such as tunability of plasmon resonances and strong extinction cross sections in the near-infrared to red spectral region. These properties have created significant interest in the development of antibody conjugation methods for synthesis of targeted nanorods for a number of biomedical applications, including molecular sp...

A chemical procedure to replace the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) cap on gold nanorods (GNRs) fabricated through seed-mediated growth with organothiol compounds [3-animo-5-mercapto-1,2,4-triazole (AMTAZ) and 11-mercaptoundecaonic acid (MUDA)] was developed to reduce the cytotoxity of GNRs and facilitate further biofunctionalization. Compared to phosphatidylcholine (PC) modification, our...

Stimulated scattering in gold-nanorod-water samples has been investigated experimentally. The scattering centers are impurity particles rather than the atoms or molecules of conventional homogeneous scattering media. The pump source for exciting stimulated scattering is a pulsed and narrow linewidth second-harmonic Nd: YAG laser, with 532 nm wavelength, ~8 ns pulse duration, and 10 Hz repetitio...

With the intense international response to the AIDS pandemic, HIV vaccines have been extensively investigated but have failed due to issues of safety or efficacy in humans. Adjuvants for HIV/AIDS vaccines are under intense research but a rational design approach is still lacking. Nanomaterials represent an obvious opportunity in this field due to their unique physicochemical properties. Gold na...

A method is described for assembling gold nanorods into one-, two-, and three-dimensional superstructures. The addition of dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) into the nanorod solution was found to induce self-assembly of the latter to one-dimensional "tapelike", two-dimensional "sheetlike" and three-dimensional "superlattice-like" structures depending on the DMSA concentration. The assembly was fou...