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Nano-bio interfaces play a significant role in assay device design and performance, here we study the use of a combined plasmonic and ferroelectric active substrate design for protein assemblies on a plasmon active array. We demonstrate that biotinylation and protein assemblies can be made on metal nanoparticles patterned on ferroelectric substrates. These results in turn demonstrate that ferroelectric substrates combined with active plasmonics is potentially applicable as substrates for biological assays. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Here, we demonstrate that quasi self-standing Au nanorod arrays prepared with plasma polymerisation deposited SiO2 dielectric spacers support surface enhanced fluorescence (SEF) while maintaining high signal reproducibility. We show that it is possible to find a balance between enhanced radiative and non-radiative decay rates at which the fluorescent intensity is maximized. The SEF signal optimised with a 30 nm spacer layer thickness showed a 3.5-fold enhancement with a signal variance of <15% thereby keeping the integrity of the nanorod array. We also demonstrate the decreased importance of obtaining resonance conditions when localized surface plasmon resonance is positioned within the spectral region of Au interband transitions. Procedures for further increasing the SEF enhancement factor are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ag nanopatterned arrays prepared using periodically proton exchanged templates have been demonstrated to support surface enhanced luminescence. Fluorescence lifetime imaging reveals that luminescence intensity is greatest on Ag and that the lifetime of the molecular probe is reduced, in line with a surface enhanced luminescence mechanism. Studies establish that the substrate simultaneously supports surface enhanced luminescence and Raman scattering. Spatial dependence along the nanopatterned arrays shows <7% variation in Raman scattering signal intensity, offering high reproducibility for practical applications. Fluorophores emitting near the plasmon absorption maxima are enhanced 4-fold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction to the article "Surface enhanced luminescence and Raman scattering from ferroelectrically defined Ag nanopatterned arrays," by Signe Damm and colleagues that was published in the August 20, 2013 issue is presented.

Photodeposition of metallic nanostructures onto ferroelectric surfaces is typically based on patterning local surface reactivity via electric field poling. Here, we demonstrate metal deposition onto substrates which have been chemically patterned via proton exchange (i.e., without polarization reversal). The chemical patterning provides the ability to tailor the electrostatic fields near the surface of lithium niobate crystals, and these engineered fields are used to fabricate metallic nanostructures. The effect of the proton exchange process on the piezoelectric and electrostatic properties of the surface is characterized using voltage-modulated atomic force microscopy techniques, which, combined with modeling of the electric fields at the surface of the crystal, reveal that the deposition occurs preferentially along the boundary between ferroelectric and proton-exchanged regions. The metallic nanostructures have been further functionalized with a target probe molecule, 4-aminothiophenol, from which surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) signal is detected, demonstrating the suitability of chemically patterned ferroelectrics as SERS-active templates.