title: Silver nanostructure sensing platform for maximum-contrast fluorescence cell imaging.
abstract: We present herein a silver nanostructure-assisted sensing platform which consists of a combined structure of Ag nanowire (NW) and nanodot (ND) array. Highly enhanced fluorescence from fluorophore is attributed to a strongly coupled optical near-field interaction between proximately located Ag NW and NDs. We obtained enhanced fluorescence intensity with up to 140 folds, as contrasted from background intensity, reaching a theoretical maximum value. On the other hand, fluorescence lifetime was greatly reduced to 0.27 ns (from 2.17 ns for the same fluorophores without nanostructure). This novel platform can be a promising utility for optical imaging and labeling of biological systems with a great sensitivity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas 76203, USA.
authors.forename: Kyung-Min
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Arup
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Neogi
authors.forename: Purnima
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Basu Neogi
authors.forename: Minjung
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Bongsoo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Rafal
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Luchowski
authors.forename: Zygmunt
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gryczynski
authors.forename: Nils
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Calander
authors.forename: Tae-Youl
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D003287:Contrast Media; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000166:cytology*; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D049329:Nanostructures; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012834:Silver
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D012834:Silver