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Quantitative SERS Detection of Uric Acid via Formation of Precise Plasmonic Nanojunctions within Aggregates of Gold Nanoparticles and Cucurbit[n]uril
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Precise subnanometer plasmonic junctions for SERS within gold nanoparticle assemblies using cucurbit[n]uril "glue".

Richard W Taylor1, Tung-Chun Lee, Oren A Scherman

  • 1NanoPhotonics Centre, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, U.K.

ACS Nano
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Summary

Cucurbit[n]urils (CB[n]) create stable gold nanoparticle assemblies with precise 0.9 nm spacing. These assemblies act as highly sensitive, self-calibrating SERS substrates for molecular detection.

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Optical Trapping of Plasmonic Nanoparticles for In Situ Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Characterizations

Published on: June 23, 2022

Area of Science:

  • Supramolecular Chemistry
  • Nanotechnology
  • Plasmonics
  • Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS)

Background:

  • Cucurbit[n]urils (CB[n]) are macrocyclic host molecules with subnanometer dimensions.
  • CB[n] can bind to gold surfaces, influencing nanoparticle aggregation.
  • Understanding plasmonic evolution in nanoparticle assemblies is crucial for SERS applications.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the plasmonic properties of gold nanoparticle aggregates stabilized by CB[n].
  • To explore the use of CB[n]-gold nanoparticle assemblies as sensitive SERS substrates.
  • To demonstrate a self-calibrating SERS assay based on CB[n] host-guest chemistry.

Main Methods:

  • Aggregation of gold nanoparticles using CB[n] to achieve a fixed interparticle separation of 0.9 nm.
  • Simultaneous extinction and SERS measurements to probe plasmonics under different kinetic regimes.
  • Theoretical simulations to identify plasmon modes associated with aggregate topology.

Main Results:

  • CB[n] induces repeatable, fixed, and rigid interparticle separation, leading to sensitive plasmonics.
  • Kinetic rates dictate aggregate topology and enable identification of discrete plasmon modes.
  • CB[n] SERS signal directly reports near-field strength, enabling in situ calibration of enhancement.

Conclusions:

  • CB[n]-stabilized gold nanoparticle aggregates offer a novel, self-calibrating SERS substrate.
  • The unique host-guest properties of CB[n] allow selective molecular trapping and detection.
  • A molecular-recognition-based SERS assay was successfully demonstrated using this platform.