Analytical Sciences


Abstract − Analytical Sciences, 33(9), 1021 (2017).

Platinum-coated Core-Shell Gold Nanorods as Multifunctional Orientation Sensors in Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy
Geun Wan Kim and Ji Won HA
Advanced Nano Bio Imaging and Spectroscopy (ANBIS) Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Ulsan, 93 Daehak-Ro, Nam-Gu, Ulsan 44610, South Korea
We characterized the optical properties of single platinum-coated core-shell gold nanorods (Pt-AuNRs) under dark-field (DF) and differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy. Furthermore, we examined their potential use as multifunctional orientation probes. Longitudinal surface plasmon resonance damping was observed for single Pt-AuNRs due to Pt metals coated on the AuNR surface under single-particle scattering spectroscopy. Despite the strong plasmon damping with a much-decreased scattering intensity, DIC microscopy allowed us to detect single Pt-AuNRs with much higher sensitivity. We found polarization-dependent DIC images and intensities of single Pt-AuNRs, which allowed us to determine their orientation angle under DIC microscopy. Therefore, we report that single Pt-AuNRs can be used to develop multifunctional orientation probes under DIC microscopy.