| AVS 56th International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Biomaterial Interfaces | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session BI+AS+NS-WeA |
| Session: | Quantitative Nanoscale Sensing at Biosurfaces and Interfaces |
| Presenter: | R.T. Hill, Duke University |
| Authors: | R.T. Hill, Duke University J.J. Mock, Duke University A. Degiron, Duke University S. Zauscher, Duke University D.R. Smith, Duke University A. Chilkoti, Duke University |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Experimental analysis of the plasmonic scattering properties of gold nanoparticles controllably placed nanometers away from a gold metal film shows that the spectral response of this system results from the interplay between the localized plasmon resonance of the nanoparticle and the surface plasmon polaritons of the gold film, as previously predicted by theoretical studies. In addition, the metal film induces a polarization to the single nanoparticle light scattering resulting in a doughnut-shaped point spread function when imaged in the far-field. Both the spectral response and the polarization effects are highly sensitive to the nanoparticle-film separation distance, and thus, the plasmonically coupled NP-Film system represents a new variant of the previously reported plasmonic molecular rulers. A surface-based molecular ruler shows promise in potential biosensor and diagnostic devices.