Imaging Gold Nanoparticles in Living Cells Environments using Heterodyne Digital Holographic Microscopy

This paper describes an imaging microscopic technique based on heterodyne digital holography where subwavelength-sized gold colloids can be imaged in cell environment. Surface cellular receptors of 3T3 mouse fibroblasts are labeled with 40 nm gold nanoparticles, and the biological specimen is imaged in a total internal reflection configuration with holographic microscopy. Due to a higher scattering efficiency of the gold nanoparticles versus that of cellular structures, accurate localization of a gold marker is obtained within a 3D mapping of the entire sample's scattered field, with a lateral precision of 5 nm and 100 nm in the x,y and in the z directions respectively, demonstrating the ability of holographic microscopy to locate nanoparticles in living cells environments

Polarization-resolved extinction and scattering cross-section of individual gold nanoparticles measured by wide-field microscopy on a large ensemble

We report a simple, rapid, and quantitative wide-field technique to measure the optical extinction $\sigma_{\rm ext}$ and scattering $\sigma_{\rm sca}$ cross-section of single nanoparticles using wide-field microscopy enabling simultaneous acquisition of hundreds of nanoparticles for statistical analysis. As a proof of principle, we measured nominally spherical gold nanoparticles of 40\,nm and 100\,nm diameter and found mean values and standard deviations of $\sigma_{\rm ext}$ and $\sigma_{\rm sca}$ consistent with previous literature. Switching from unpolarized to linearly polarized excitation, we measured $\sigma_{\rm ext}$ as a function of the polarization direction, and used it to characterize the asphericity of the nanoparticles. The method can be implemented cost-effectively on any conventional wide-field microscope and is applicable to any nanoparticles

Surface plasmon resonance assisted rapid laser joining of glass

Rapid and strong joining of clear glass to glass containing randomly distributed embedded spherical silver nanoparticles upon nanosecond pulsed laser irradiation (∼40 ns and repetition rate of 100 kHz) at 532 nm is demonstrated. The embedded silver nanoparticles were ∼30–40 nm in diameter, contained in a thin surface layer of ∼10 μm. A joint strength of 12.5 MPa was achieved for a laser fluence of only ∼0.13 J/cm2 and scanning speed of 10 mm/s. The bonding mechanism is discussed in terms of absorption of the laser energy by nanoparticles and the transfer of the accumulated localised heat to the surrounding glass leading to the local melting and formation of a strong bond. The presented technique is scalable and overcomes a number of serious challenges for a widespread adoption of laser-assisted rapid joining of glass substrates, enabling applications in the manufacture of microelectronic devices, sensors, micro-fluidic, and medical devices

Effect of Size, Shape and Environment on the Optical Response of Metallic Nanoparticles

The aim of this chapter is to investigate the effect of size, shape and environment on the optical properties of metallic nanoparticles in a large spectral range (λ = 300–900 nm) using quasi-static approximation for nanoparticles of sizes (D = 10–40 nm) and Mie theory for nanoparticles of sizes (D = 40–100 nm). Extinction (scattering and absorption) cross-sectional spectrum of nanoparticles is obtained for different diameters embedded in different matrices. Collective oscillation of electrons in conduction band in metallic nanoparticles is known as surface plasmon resonance (SPR) phenomena. SPR of metallic nanoparticles has significant applications in optics, communications and biosensors. We present in this chapter the effects of the interparticle distance on the optical response of gold dimer nanoparticles of 100 nm diameter. The extinction spectra of dimer nanoparticles are calculated by using generalized Mie theory

Study the Interaction between Gold Nanoparticles and Bovine Serum Albumin: Spectroscopic Approach

Interaction between gold nanoparticles of 40 & 60 nm with BSA has been investigated using UV-absorption spectrophotometry, fluorescence spectroscopy and FT-IR spectroscopy. UV-absorption spectrophotometry showed an increase in the absorption intensity with increasing the molecular ratios of gold nanoparticles of both sizes to BSA, it is found that the value of the binding constant is estimated to be 0.888 × 104 M-1 for gold nanoparticles (40 nm)- BSA complexes, and 1.16 × 104 M-1 for gold nanoparticles (60 nm)-BSA complexes. FT-IR spectroscopy analysis showed that intensities of gold nanoparticles of both sizes-BSA complexes decrease as the concentration increased

A Common-Path Interferometer for Time-Resolved and Shot-Noise-Limited Detection of Single Nanoparticles

We give a detailed description of a novel method for time-resolved experiments on single non-luminescent nanoparticles. The method is based on the combination of pump-probe spectroscopy and a common-path interferometer. In our interferometer, probe and reference arms are separated in time and polarization by a birefringent crystal. The interferometer, fully described by an analytical model, allows us to separately detect the real and imaginary contributions to the signal. We demonstrate the possibilities of the setup by time-resolved detection of single gold nanoparticles as small as 10 nm in diameter, and of acoustic oscillations of particles larger than 40 nm in diameter

The Hydrothermal Autoclave Synthesis of the Nanopowders of the Refractory ZrO2 and HfO2 Oxides

The nanopowders of the transition metal ZrO2 and HfO2 oxides were obtained by the hydrothermal autoclave synthesis. The nanoparticles possess a rounded shape and a size range of 40 to 80 nm (ZrO2), of 10 to 40 nm (HfO2). X-ray diffraction analysis and electron microscopy show that the structure of the nanoparticles is monoclinic