Biofunctionalization of gold nanoshells monitored by surphase plasmon resonance

Abstract

Gold nanoshells (GNSs) were grown on monodispersed and aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) funclionalized silica nanoparticles (NPs) cores with varying sizes ranging from 60-180 nm, which were prepared by Stober route. Gold shells were deposited onto the surface of silica NPs by using tetrakis (hydroxymethyl) phosphonium chloride (THPC) and an electroless gold plating method. The coverage of the gold nanoshells on the surfaces of the silica NPs was evaluated using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectra and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The GNSs were also attached with biomolecules. The plasmon resonance wavelengths of this GNSs were tunable from visible to near infrared. The attachment process of biomolecules onto the GNSs surfaces was controlled by measuring both their SPR spectra and their zeta potentials.