Probing the nano-bio interface with nanoplasmonic optical probes

Abstract

Noble metal nanoparticles have large cross-sections in both optical and electron microscopy and plasmon coupling between noble metal nanoparticles facilitate the characterization of subdiffraction limit separations through spectral analysis of the scattered light in Plasmon Coupling Microscopy (PCM). The size compatibility of noble metal nanoparticles together with the ability to encode specific functionality in a rational fashion by control of the nanoparticle surface makes noble metal nanoparticles unique probes for a broad range of biological processes. Recent applications of the technology include i.) characterization of cellular heterogeneity in nanomaterial uptake and processing through macrophages, ii.) testing the role of viral membrane lipids in mediating viral binding and trafficking, and iii.) characterizing the spatial organization of cancer biomarkers in plasma membranes. This paper reviews some of these applications and introduces the physical and material science principles underlying them. We will also introduce the use of membrane wrapped noble metal nanoparticles, which combine the superb photophysical properties of a nanoparticle core with the biological functionality of a membrane, as probes in PCM.