Wide-field single metal nanoparticle spectroscopy for high throughput localized surface plasmon resonance sensing

Lab Chip. 2011 Jun 7;11(11):1895-901. doi: 10.1039/c0lc00644k. Epub 2011 Feb 28.

Abstract

Noble metal nanoparticles (mNPs) have a distinct extinction spectrum arising from their ability to support Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR). Single-particle biosensing with LSPR is label free and offers a number of advantages, including single molecular sensitivity, multiplex detection, and in vivo quantification of chemical species etc. In this article, we introduce Single-particle LSPR Imaging (SLI), a wide-field spectral imaging method for high throughput LSPR biosensing. The SLI utilizes a transmission grating to generate the diffraction spectra from multiple mNPs, which are captured using a Charge Coupled Device (CCD). With the SLI, we are able to simultaneously image and track the spectral changes of up to 50 mNPs in a single (∼1 s) exposure and yet still retain a reasonable spectral resolution for biosensing. Using the SLI, we could observe spectral shift under different local refractive index environments and demonstrate biosensing using biotin-streptavidin as a model system. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time a transmission grating based spectral imaging approach has been used for mNPs LSPR sensing. The higher throughput LSPR sensing, offered by SLI, opens up a new possibility of performing label-free, single-molecule experiments in a high-throughput manner.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Biosensing Techniques / instrumentation*
  • Biosensing Techniques / methods*
  • Biotin / chemistry
  • Equipment Design
  • Metal Nanoparticles / chemistry*
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Silver / chemistry*
  • Spectrum Analysis / methods
  • Streptavidin / chemistry
  • Surface Plasmon Resonance / instrumentation*
  • Surface Plasmon Resonance / methods*
  • Surface Properties

Substances

  • Silver
  • Biotin
  • Streptavidin