Showing papers by "Peter Zijlstra published in 2012"

Optical detection of single non-absorbing molecules using the surface plasmon resonance of a gold nanorod.

Abstract: Existing methods for the optical detection of single molecules require the molecules to absorb light to produce fluorescence or direct absorption signals. This limits the range of species that can be detected, because most molecules are purely refractive. Metal nanoparticles or dielectric resonators can be used to detect non-absorbing molecules because local changes in the refractive index produce a resonance shift. However, current approaches only detect single molecules when the resonance shift is amplified by a highly polarizable label or by a localized precipitation reaction on the surface of a nanoparticle. Without such amplification, single-molecule events can only be identified in a statistical way. Here, we report the plasmonic detection of single molecules in real time without the need for labelling or amplification. Our sensor consists of a single gold nanorod coated with biotin receptors, and the binding of single proteins is detected by monitoring the plasmon resonance of the nanorod with a sensitive photothermal assay. The sensitivity of our device is ∼700 times higher than state-of-the-art plasmon sensors and is intrinsically limited by spectral diffusion of the surface plasmon resonance.

Luminescence quantum yield of single gold nanorods

Abstract: We study the luminescence quantum yield (QY) of single gold nanorods with different aspect ratios and volumes. Compared to gold nanospheres, we observe an increase of QY by about an order of magnitude for particles with a plasmon resonance >650 nm. The observed trend in QY is further confirmed by controlled reshaping of a single gold nanorod to a spherelike shape. Moreover, we identify two spectral components, one around 500 nm originating from a combination of interband transitions and the transverse plasmon and one coinciding with the longitudinal plasmon band. These components are analyzed by correlating scattering and luminescence spectra of single nanorods and performing polarization sensitive measurements. Our study contributes to the understanding of luminescence from gold nanorods. The enhanced QY we report can benefit applications in biological and soft matter studies.

Damping of Acoustic Vibrations of Single Gold Nanoparticles Optically Trapped in Water

Abstract: We combine ultrafast pump–probe spectroscopy with optical trapping to study homogeneous damping of the acoustic vibrations of single gold nanospheres (80 nm diameter) and nanorods (25 nm diameter by 60 nm length) in water. We find a significant particle-to-particle variation in damping times. Our results indicate that vibrational damping occurs not only by dissipation into the liquid, but also by damping mechanisms intrinsic to the particle. Our experiment opens the study of mechanisms of intrinsic mechanical dissipation in metals at frequencies 1–1000 GHz, a range that has been difficult to access thus far.

Chemical interface damping in single gold nanorods and its near elimination by tip-specific functionalization

Abstract: Tip-functionalized nanorods: Single-particle spectroscopy shows that functionalization of small gold nanorods with thiol groups leads to a broadening of the plasmon resonance by chemical interface damping. By specifically functionalizing the tips of the nanorod (see picture) this broadening is nearly eliminated while the sensing performance is maintained relative to fully functionalized particles.

Rotational diffusion and alignment of short gold nanorods in an external electric field

Abstract: We present measurements of the polarized extinction of gold nanorod suspensions exposed to an external electric field. By employing an amplitude modulated field in combination with lock-in detection we resolve changes in the optical density as low as 10−6 in an integration time of 10 s. This sensitivity allows us to probe the partial alignment of small gold nanorods with an aspect ratio of 2.5 and a width ranging from 13 nm to 28 nm. The degree of orientation scales as the square of the electric field strength, as expected for an induced dipole moment in an external field. By varying the modulation frequency we measure the rotation diffusion constant of different samples, which are in excellent agreement with the calculated values for a short cylinder.