Setting the Environmental Conditions for Controlling Gold Nanoparticle Assemblies

摘要

Nanoparticles (NPs) may be exploited to make practical materials that are capable of the selective detection of (bio)molecules. Sensing with NPs often depends on the ability to selectively form aggregates. For instance, Mirkin et al. introduced a bio-barcode amplification method for ultrasensitive protein detection.'' Another important study involves the detection of copper ions by hybrid AuNP assemblies in click chemistry. The structures of AuNP-based assemblies can also be controlled electrochemically or by light. However, despite these successes, controlling the properties and structure of NP-based assemblies with organic cross-linkers (CLs) still remains a challenge. We have previously shown that the molecular geometry of CLs and the number of possible NP binding sites are related to the formation of hybrid AuNP assemblies and their associated optical properties.