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Plasmonic nanoparticles are an emerging tool for developing label-free multicolorimetric sensors for biosensing and chemosensing applications. The color absorbed by nanoparticles from visible light is influenced by their size, shape, orientation, and interparticle distance. Differently sized and shaped gold and silver nanoparticles exhibit a wide range of colors, aiding in the development of label-free sensors. Etching is the process of oxidizing nanoparticles, which alters their aspect ratio, shape, plasmonic peak, and outward appearance. It is typically used to create sensitive sensing platforms. Through etching, analytes could be detected in a simple, sensitive, and selective manner. The multicolor readout of nanoparticle etching-based multicolorimetric sensors can overcome the limitations of conventional colorimetric assays and improve the accuracy of visual inspection. This review discusses different approaches for target sensing using nanoparticle etching strategies like direct etching, enzyme-mediated etching, chemical reaction-driven etching, and anti-etching-based sensors and their mechanisms. In the future, etching strategies could be modified into portable sensing devices to detect a variety of analytes, which will aid in the development of on-time, in situ, and point-of-care sensing systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate a novel sensor platform with enhanced sensitivity and selectivity for detecting aflatoxin B1 – a common food toxin in cereals. The approach is based on a molecularly imprinted polymer film that provides selective binding of the aflatoxin B1 and fluorescence signal from the analyte molecule enhanced by the local electric field induced in close proximity to the surface of a silver nanoparticle excited at the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) wavelength. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) with supramolecular aflatoxin-selective receptor sites and embedded spherical silver nanoparticles (with diameters 30–70 nm, the LSPR band 407 nm) were prepared in the form of a thin polymer film on the surface of a glass slide using in situ polymerization. The detection limit of the sensor for aflatoxin B1 is 0.3 ng mL−1, which is significantly lower than for a fluorescent sensor without silver nanoparticles. The plasmon-enhanced fluorescence factor is 33, and the linear dynamic range of the sensor is 0.3–25 ng mL−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical excitation of coupled plasmonic nanoparticles supports intense localized electromagnetic “hot-spots” which enable a variety of surface enhanced spectroscopies with the best known example being surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), currently of great interest for sensing applications. In this study, we present a novel SERS and electrical dual transduction chemical sensor based on gas-phase generated, negatively charged, silver nanoparticles self-assembled on glass slide forming a close-packed plasmonic monolayer thin-film that supports both SERS and electrical sensing. We demonstrate broad tunability of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of the close-packed plasmonic nanoparticle monolayer thin-film sensors through control of the nanoparticle (NP) deposition time which directly influences the plasmonic coupling between neghibouring NPs. This broad tunability supports strong SERS activity from visible to near infrared (NIR) excitation wavelengths. We performed SERS and electrical measurements of a non-resonant molecule 4-mercaptobenzonitrile (4-MBN) as a sample Raman reporter molecule to determine the SERS enhancement factor of our SERS substrate. We measured an average SERS enhancement factor of 107 from our close-packed plasmonic nanoparticle monolayer thin-film sensor. Films which were grown below or above one nanoparticle monolayer both exhibited significantly lower SERS performance in one or more of SERS enhancement factor (EF), uniformity or repeatability. Our close-packed plasmonic nanoparticle monolayer thin-film sensors are highly uniform from point-to-point across the entire substrate and showed good reproducibility from batch-to-batch. These qualities are highly desirable for quantifiable detection of chemical and biological molecules. As an example application, this type of substrates provides an affordable and reliable sensing and identification capability for combatting new and emerging chemical and biological threats in support of security applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a method and optical design for direct visualization of label-free detection. The system, similar to a tiny spectral analyzer, is composed of a nanostructure-based surface plasmon resonance chip, linear polarizer and 532 nm laser light source. The full-width-at-half-maximum bandwidths of the enhanced surface plasmon resonances are about 5 nm. The distribution of the transmitted light from these arrays comprises a spectral image on the chip. The qualitative and quantitative analyses of the analyte can be conducted by observing the spot shift on the chip. We tested the sensing capability of the chip. The detectable surface mass density with the naked eye is about 0.476 μg cm−2. In addition, antigen–antibody interaction experiments are conducted to verify the surface binding measurements. A monolayer protein attached on the chip can be directly observed and the concentration levels of the analyte can be estimated with the naked eye. Such plasmonic biochips can benefit sensing applications in point-of-care diagnostics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a method and optical design for direct visualization of label-free detection. The system, similar to a tiny spectral analyzer, is composed of a nanostructure-based surface plasmon resonance chip, linear polarizer and 532 nm laser light source. The full-width-at-half-maximum bandwidths of the enhanced surface plasmon resonances are about 5 nm. The distribution of the transmitted light from these arrays comprises a spectral image on the chip. The qualitative and quantitative analyses of the analyte can be conducted by observing the spot shift on the chip. We tested the sensing capability of the chip. The detectable surface mass density with the naked eye is about 0.476 μg cm−2. In addition, antigen–antibody interaction experiments are conducted to verify the surface binding measurements. A monolayer protein attached on the chip can be directly observed and the concentration levels of the analyte can be estimated with the naked eye. Such plasmonic biochips can benefit sensing applications in point-of-care diagnostics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reported the significantly improved Raman enhancement ability of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) by decorating them on single NaYF4:Yb,Er@SiO2 core–shell particles (UC@SiO2@Ag) under a 785 nm excitation. The optimal thickness of the silica shell can be easily obtained by adjusting the amounts of TEOS, which is the crucial element to balance the upconversion and the formation of a hot spot by Ag NP aggregation. This substrate revealed highly reproducible properties, which is crucial to the practical application of SERS technology. This substrate exhibited an excellent sensitivity for methylamphetamine detection under near-infrared excitation. The advantages of NIR excitation in our SERS sensing open up a new application field of UC-noble metal composites, and also promise a new research direction for the synthesis and applications of SERS-active nanostructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a novel assay for the detection of free chlorine is proposed for the first time. It is based on a redox reaction that occurs between triangular silver nanoprisms and free chlorine, which results in a morphological transformation and a change of the localized surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of the triangular silver nanoprisms. In the assay, the presence of free chlorine would etch triangular silver nanoprisms from triangle to round, leading to a significant blue-shift SPR absorption band of triangular silver nanoprisms. The wavelength shift was used for facile and reliable free chlorine quantification in the range of 0.1–20 μM. The obtained detection limit was as low as 0.07 μM, which was about one and half orders of magnitude lower than that of the most widely used N-N-diethyl-p-phenylenediamine (DPD) colorimetric methods. Moreover, this assay was employed to determine the free residual chlorine in local tap water samples. The obtained results were in accordance with those obtained by the DPD colorimetric method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple and effective colorimetric method for determination of Cu2+ in real samples was developed. In this method, thiomalic acid functionalized silver nanoparticles (TMA-AgNPs) were prepared and changes in solution color, induced by the aggregation of TMA-AgNPs in the presence of Cu2+, were employed for quantitative analysis. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band of our synthesized TMA-AgNPs was located at 392 nm and shifted to a longer wavelength after aggregation due to the interactions between carboxylate and Cu2+. A band intensity ratio of A455/(A392−A455) was constructed and used to correlate with the concentration of Cu2+. A linear relationship was found with a linear response up to 50 nM of Cu2+. Due to the formation of a stable carboxylate Cu2+ complex, highly sensitive detection of Cu2+ was achieved with the estimated detection limit approaching 1 nM. Moreover, the formation of the stable complex leads to high selectivity in the detection of Cu2+, which was verified by examination of 12 other metal ions. In the detection of Cu2+ in real samples, results indicated that our proposed method is simple, sensitive and selective for application in such measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We employed 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane to assist the synthesis of Ag NCs using polyethyleneimine as the template for detecting Hg2+ by localized surface plasmon resonance light-scattering technology. The developed selective and sensitive method presaged more opportunities for application in environmental systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]