Laser induced desorption/ionization (LDI) of gold ions from gold nanoparticles was examined. The detection limit was estimated to be about 0.02 amol mm−2.

Fabrication of surface-immobilized silver nanostructures with reproducible plasmonic properties by dip-coating technique is difficult due to shape alteration. To address this challenge, we used a polyelectrolyte multilayer to promote immobilization of as-received triangular silver nanoplates (TSNP) on a glass substrate through electrostatic interaction. The substrate-immobilized TSNP were characterized by absorption spectrophotometry and scanning electron microscopy. The bandwidth and peak position of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) bands can be tuned by simply varying the concentration of the colloidal solution and immersion time. TSNP immobilized from a higher concentration of colloidal solution with longer immersion time produced broadened LSPR bands in the near-IR region, while a lower concentration with shorter immersion time produced narrower bands in the visible region. The shape of the nanoplates was retained even at long immersion time. Analysis of peak positions and bandwidths also revealed the point at which the main species of the immobilization had been changed from isolates to aggregates.

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Gold nanospheres were dispersed in gelatin sections (10–100 µm thickness) and their laser desorption/ionization (LDI) efficiencies of gold ions (Au+, Au2+, Au3+) under pulsed-laser irradiation were examined. The mass signal intensities were linear to the surface densities ranging from 6 × 104 to 6 × 106 particles/mm2. When the thickness of the sections was thinner than or equal to 50 µm, the LDI efficiency of gold nanospheres was independent of the thickness. Thus, the mass intensity was dependent on the surface densities of gold nanospheres in the gelatin sections. It was also found that the LDI efficiencies were affected by the concentration of gelatin solutions. Based on the high reproducibility of mass signals obtained from gelatin sections, the LDI efficiencies of star-shaped gold nanoparticles (gold nanostars) were also evaluated. It was found that the nanostars showed higher LDI efficiencies than gold nanospheres, but the enhancement was not more than 25%.

For analysis of low abundance peptides in a tissue section, immunohistochemical staining through antibody-antigen interaction is a usual technique. The antibody is conjugated with a probe moiety that aids in highly sensitive detection. Gold nanoparticles, which show excellent chemical stability and variation of surface modifications, are expected to act as a sensitive mass probe to desorb gold ions (Au , Au , Au ) that are distinguishable from fragment ions from organic molecules. Here, green fluorescent proteins (GFP) in a tissue section of a transgenic zebrafish was detected by the gold mass probe conjugated with antibodies. Due to the efficient ionization and desorption of gold ions, imaging mass spectrometry of Au ions indicated the distribution of gold nanoparticles stained in a tissue section, and the mass signal distribution was consistent with the area where the GFP-expressing cells were distributed. Conventional immunofluorescence techniques showed intense autofluorescence that come from intrinsic fluorophores in the tissue section. In contrast, the gold nanoparticles acted as an immunostaining mass probe that displayed significantly lower background signals.

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