Multiphoton plasmon-resonance microscopy.

A novel method for detection of noble-metal nanoparticles by their nonlinear optical properties is presented and applied for specific labeling of cellular organelles. When illuminated by laser light in resonance with their plasmon frequency these nanoparticles generate an enhanced multiphoton signal. This enhanced signal is measured to obtain a depth-resolved image in a laser scanning microscope setup. Plasmon-resonance images of both live and fixed cells, showing specific labeling of cellular organelles and membranes, either by two-photon autofluorescence or by third-harmonic generation, are presented.