Nanoplasmonic Biological Sensing and Imaging

The localized surface plasmon resonance of metal nanoparticles is the collective oscillation of electrons on particle surface. The localized electromagnetic interaction brings a series of novel functions and applications. Plasmonic nanomaterials have been the significant part of nanophotonics, since its' localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) can focus incident phonons on the nanoscale surface. The unique plasmonic property is highly sensitive to their size, shape, coupling between particles as well as local dielectric environment. These properties can be utilized for the development of new biosensing and bioimaging applications. To date, many LSPR sensing strategies have been developed with outstanding measurement capabilities, enabling detection down to the single-molecule level, including LSPR-based sensing, surface-enhanced Raman scattering, metal-enhanced fluorescence, dark-field light-scattering, metal-mediated fluorescence resonance energy transfer. Moreover, the unique optical stability of plasmonic nanoparticles enables them as ideal probes in cellular imaging. Here, recent examples on application of plasmonic nanostructures in sensing and bioimaging are summarized, and perspectives are provided as well.