title: Hybrid nanostructures for enhanced light-harvesting: plasmon induced increase in fluorescence from individual photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes.
abstract: We studied the optical response from more than 13, 000 individual photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes interacting with spherical gold nanoparticles. The nanodots were arranged in a quasi-hexagonal array by diblock copolymer micellar nanolithography. Exciting the proteins within the spectral range of the nanoparticles' plasmon resonance yields a clear enhancement of the protein fluorescence intensity, whereas excitation far out of the plasmon resonance features no effect. This result indicates a strategy for the construction of efficient hybrid light-harvesting devices.
authors.affiliation: Experimental Physics IV and Bayreuther Institut für Makromolekülforschung (BIMF), University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany.
authors.forename: Sebastian R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Beyer
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ullrich
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kudera
authors.forename: Alastair T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Gardiner
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Cogdell
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Köhler
mesh_terms: D000042:Absorption; D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D012031:Refractometry / Q000379:methods*; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents; D011506:Proteins