Gold Nanoparticle Plasmonic Field Effect on the Primary Step of the Other Photosynthetic System in Nature, Bacteriorhodopsin

摘要

The strong local electric fields resulting from the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) oscillations of optically excited plasmonic (gold and silver) nanoparticles lead to a strong enhancement of the optical signals from molecules in the vicinity of the nanoparticles. Important examples include metal plasmon-enhanced fluorescence, which has a demonstrated utility in sensing and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) with enhancement factors large enough to allow single molecule detection and to enhance second harmonic generation in molecular systems adsorbed on the nanoparticle's surface or in its vicinity. This field decays over a distance comparable to the nanoparticle size (tens of nanometers) and is much stronger for aggregated particles.