Au Nanorod Decoration on NaYF<sub>4</sub>:Yb/Tm Nanoparticles
for Enhanced Emission and Wavelength-Dependent Biomolecular Sensing
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Abstract
We
introduce gold nanorods (GNRs) decoration on NaYF<sub>4</sub>:Yb/Tm
upconversion nanocrystals (UCNCs) by functionalizing the UCNCs with
polyamidoamine generation 1 (PAMAM G1) dendrimer, followed by a single-step
seed-mediated growth of long-range GNRs to enhance “biological
window” upconversion emission. The up-conversion emission of
GNR-decorated UCNCs can be enhanced beyond the level typically obtainable
using shell-like structures up to 27-fold enhancement. Also, the enhancement
can be tuned at different wavelength regions by varying the GNR aspect
ratio. The GNR-decorated UCNC is further modified with 2-thiouracil
for nonenzymatic detection of uric acid, revealing a detection limit
as 1 pM
