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Reduction of Self-Quenching in Fluorescent Silica-Coated Silver Nanoparticles

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Abstract

This paper reports the development of spherical Ag@SiO2 nanocomposites in which fluorescein isothiocyanate molecules have been incorporated using a silane coupling agent and a straightforward microemulsion-based synthesis procedure. The photophysical characteristics of core-shell and coreless nanostructures with similar silica shell thickness and fluorophore densities are measured and compared, and show unequivocally that the presence of the silver core decreases the fluorophore lifetime by a factor as high as 4 and that the steady-state fluorescence intensity is increased by a factor as high as 3. The relationship between the enhancement in fluorescence yield and the influence of the silver core on resonance energy transfer processes was examined by fluorescence lifetime and anisotropy measurements. These Ag@SiO2 core-shell nanoparticles provide higher detectability and lower self-quenching, whereas the faster recycling time offers more robustness toward photobleaching.

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Acknowledgment

We are grateful to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the “Fonds Québécois de Recherche sur la Nature et les Technologies” (FQRNT) for the financial support of this research. The authors express their gratitude to the “Service de Microscopie de l’Université Laval” for their assistance with the TEM measurements used in this work. Furthermore, comments and suggestions by members of the Ritcey Group at Laval University are also acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Centre d’optique, photonique, et laser (COPL), Laval University, Quebec City, PQ, Canada, G1K 7P4

    Mathieu L. Viger, Ludovic S. Live, Olivier D. Therrien & Denis Boudreau

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  1. Mathieu L. Viger
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  2. Ludovic S. Live
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  3. Olivier D. Therrien
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  4. Denis Boudreau
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Correspondence to Denis Boudreau.

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Viger, M.L., Live, L.S., Therrien, O.D. et al. Reduction of Self-Quenching in Fluorescent Silica-Coated Silver Nanoparticles. Plasmonics 3, 33–40 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11468-007-9051-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11468-007-9051-x

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