Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 8, 2026

Visualizing Diffusional Dynamics of Gold Nanorods on Cell Membrane using Single Nanoparticle Darkfield Microscopy
Published on: March 5, 2021
Translational and rotational diffusion of gold nanorods near a wall
Maryam Haghighi1, Muhammad Nawaz Tahir, Wolfgang Tremel
1Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, P.O. Box 3148, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
Abstract:
We measured the rotational and translational diffusivity of dilute gold nanorods in aqueous suspension close to a hard planar wall. Therefore, resonance enhanced dynamic light scattering, an evanescent technique, was applied, making use of the strong scattering intensity near the longitudinal surface plasmon resonance frequency of the particle. We observed a slowing down beyond the known hydrodynamic models.
Related Concept Videos
Protein Diffusion in the Membrane
Protein Dynamics in Living Cells
Fluorescent recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a fluorescent-protein-based detection technique used to quantify protein movement rates within the cell. This method exposes a small portion of the cell to an intense laser beam. The laser beam causes permanent photobleaching of the fluorophore-tagged proteins in the exposed region. As the bleached...

