Refine
Year of publication
- 2017 (4) (remove)
Document Type
- Article (3)
- Doctoral Thesis (1)
Language
- English (4)
Is part of the Bibliography
- yes (4)
Keywords
- gold nanoparticles (4) (remove)
Institute
The construction of nano-sized, two-dimensionally ordered nanoparticle (NP) superstructures is important for various advanced applications such as photonics, sensing, catalysis, or nano-circuitry. Currently, such structures are fabricated using the templated organization approach, in which the templates are mainly created by photo-lithography or laser-lithography and other invasive top-down etching procedures. In this work, we present an alternative bottom-up preparation method for the controlled deposition of NPs into hierarchical structures. Lamellar polystyrene-block-poly(2-vinylpyridinium) thin films featuring alternating stripes of neutral PS and positively charged P2VP domains serve as templates, allowing for the selective adsorption of negatively charged gold NPs. Dense NP assembly is achieved by a simple immersion process, whereas two-dimensionally ordered arrays of NPs are realized by microcontact printing (mu CP), utilizing periodic polydimethylsiloxane wrinkle grooves loaded with gold NPs. This approach enables the facile construction of hierarchical NP arrays with variable geometries. Copyright (C) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Nanolenses are self-similar chains of metal nanoparticles, which can theoretically provide extremely high field enhancements. Yet, the complex structure renders their synthesis challenging and has hampered closer analyses so far. Here, DNA origami is used to self-assemble 10, 20, and 60 nm gold nanoparticles as plasmonic gold nanolenses (AuNLs) in solution and in billions of copies. Three different geometrical arrangements are assembled, and for each of the three designs, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) capabilities of single AuNLs are assessed. For the design which shows the best properties, SERS signals from the two different internal gaps are compared by selectively placing probe dyes. The highest Raman enhancement is found for the gap between the small and medium nanoparticle, which is indicative of a cascaded field enhancement.
Nanolenses are linear chains of differently-sized metal nanoparticles, which can theoretically provide extremely high field enhancements. The complex structure renders their synthesis challenging and has hampered closer analyses so far. Here, the technique of DNA origami was used to self-assemble DNA-coated 10 nm, 20 nm, and 60 nm gold or silver nanoparticles into gold or silver nanolenses. Three different geometrical arrangements of gold nanolenses were assembled, and for each of the three, sets of single gold nanolenses were investigated in detail by atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, dark-field scattering and Raman spectroscopy. The surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) capabilities of the single nanolenses were assessed by labelling the 10 nm gold nanoparticle selectively with dye molecules. The experimental data was complemented by finite-difference time-domain simulations. For those gold nanolenses which showed the strongest field enhancement, SERS signals from the two different internal gaps were compared by selectively placing probe dyes on the 20 nm or 60 nm gold particles. The highest enhancement was found for the gap between the 20 nm and 10 nm nanoparticle, which is indicative of a cascaded field enhancement. The protein streptavidin was labelled with alkyne groups and served as a biological model analyte, bound between the 20 nm and 10 nm particle of silver nanolenses. Thereby, a SERS signal from a single streptavidin could be detected. Background peaks observed in SERS measurements on single silver nanolenses could be attributed to amorphous carbon. It was shown that the amorphous carbon is generated in situ.
Carbohydrates carrying thiol groups at the C-2 position have been attached to gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with stereocenters in close proximity to the surface for the first time. Their configurations can be clearly distinguished by the tendency of particle aggregation. AuNP surface plasmon resonance (SPR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and IR spectroscopy indicate that the thiocarbohydrates replace citrate molecules at different rates, causing aggregation and eventually precipitation. A quantitative formulation of this aggregation process shows that reactivities can vary by several magnitudes. Adsorption isotherms and kinetics also demonstrate that the number of thiocarbohydrates varies by a factor of two. Molecular mechanics force field (MMFF) calculations reveal their relative orientations. Based on these models, the different binding behavior can be ascribed to attractive van der Waals forces and hydrogen bonds. Such interactions occur either between the carbohydrate and AuNPs, by lateral intermolecular forces at the surface, or by interparticle attraction, in analogy to cell-surface carbohydrates of biological recognition systems. Aggregation of NPs therefore act as an indicator to differentiate between various carbohydrates with defined configurations.