Metal@Silica Plasmonic Nanoparticles for Biosensing and Cell Imaging

The development of nanomaterials displaying enhanced luminescence properties is an active field of research. In particular, it is known that the photophysical behavior of molecular dyes can be controlled by placing them at precise distances from metal nanoparticles, which is proving useful for the design of sensitive sensing strategies for various chemicals and biomolecules. Reproducible improvements in detection sensitivity and photostability can be obtained with core-shell nanoparticles composed of a nanometer-size metal core coated by multiple layers of silica. By careful control of the spacing between the core and fluorophores arranged in concentric layers, these nanostructures can be used to enhance Förster resonant energy transfer (FRET) efficiency and range between donor-acceptor pairs localized on these multilayer composite NPs. These multilayer core-shell nanoparticles present many of the features required of an ideal self-supported sensing platform: they offer high optical detection sensitivity, excellent chemical and photophysical stability, high dispersability in water, and facile surface functionalization. Furthermore, their mobility is an asset for probing the contents of extended sample volumes in biosensing applications. In this presentation, we will present recent progress accomplished with the design of hybrid core-shell luminescent nanoparticles for bioanalytical applications, in particular for blood genotyping and functional cellular imaging.

Denis.boudreau@chm.ulaval.ca