A key way to impart specific function to metallic nanoparticles is to functionalize their surface with ligands, allowing a range of applications including chemical and biological sensing; theranostics; and catalysis.  For gold nanoparticles, this typically involves incubating nanoparticles in solutions containing thiol-terminated ligands and allowing the ligands to self-assemble on the surface of the gold through the formation of gold-thiol bonds.  However, the structure and organization of the resulting ligand shell at the metal-organic interface is difficult to visualize.  This talk will describe how single molecule fluorescence and super-resolution microscopy provide insight into surface organization of DNA-functionalized gold nanorods as a function of different preparation strategies.  In cases when the DNA binds in a collapsed, disordered configuration, plasmon heating facilitates dynamic surface reorganization to a more ordered, upright geometry.  By understanding how changes in surface preparation protocols impact the resulting ligand shell, we will be able to synthesize more reproducible functionalized nanostructures.<br/>

Visualizing dynamic reorganization of surface-bound ligands on gold nanorods

2019 Fall National Meeting

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