Xin's paper on sensing glucose and hydrogen peroxide in urine and serum is published in Analytical Chemistry! →

Abstract:

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is known as a key molecule in a variety of biological processes, as well as a crucial byproduct in many enzymatic reactions. Therefore, being able to selectively and sensitively detect H2O2 is not only important in monitoring, estimating, and decoding H2O2 relevant physiological pathways but also very helpful in developing enzymatic-based biosensors for other analytes of interest. Herein, we report a plasmonic probe for H2O2 based on 3- mercaptophenylboronic acid (3-MPBA) modified gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) which is coupled with surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) to yield a limit of detection (LOD) of 70 nM. Our probe quantifies both exogenous and endogenous H2O2 levels in living cells and can further be coupled with glucose oxidase (GOx) to achieve quantitative and selective detection of glucose in artificial urine and human serum.

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.analchem.6b01378

Hobbie's paper on probing two-photon molecular properties of crystal violet using surface-enhanced hyper-Raman scattering is published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry C! →

Abstract:

The surface-enhanced hyper-Raman scattering spectra of crystal violet are experimentally measured and theoretically calculated for excitation energies spanning the two lowest-lying electronic states (12,700− 27,400 cm−1 ). The theory and experiment are in qualitative agreement over the measured energy range, indicating that first-principles calculations capture many of the complex resonance contributions in this prototypical octupolar system. The discrepancies between theory and experiment are investigated by comparing spectra obtained in different local environments as well as from higher-order surface-enhanced spectroscopies. A comparison between relative surface-enhanced hyper-Raman scattering band ratios plotted as a function of excitation wavelength and crystal violet’s absorption spectra elucidates correlations between groups of vibrations and the excitedelectronic states. Our results suggest that the spectral features across the range of resonance excitation energies (∼15,500−27,400 cm−1 ) are dominated by strong A-term scattering.

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jpcc.6b02746

Yueying and Guoliang's paper on the study of the full plasmonic spectrum of self-assembled Au-Ag alloy nanoparticles is published in ACS Photonics! →

Abstract:

We report the self-assembly of ultrasmooth AuxAg1−x nanoparticles with homogeneous composition via pulsed laser-induced dewetting (PLiD). The nanoparticles are truncated nanospheres that sustain unique plasmonic features. For the first time an electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) study elucidating the size and composition effects on the plasmonic modes of truncated AuxAg1−x nanospheres is carried out. EELS characterization captures a linear red-shift in both bright and dark modes as a function of the atomic fraction of Au and a progressive red-shift of all modes as the size increases. The results are interpreted in the context of Mie theory and electron beam simulations. Armed with the full plasmonic spectrum of the AuxAg1−x system, the truncated spheres and their ordered arrays synthesized via PLiD have promise as elements in advanced photonic devices.

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsphotonics.5b00548