Ultrabright and bleaching-resistant hybrid gold nanoparticles for confocal and two-photon fluorescence imaging

摘要

We review our work on hybrid gold nanoparticles that are optimized for their bright fluorescence and photobleaching resistance. Our first goal in using gold nanoparticles is to load a large density of photoactive molecules onto a bio-compatible nanoplatform. Our second goal is to optimize the molecule-gold nanoparticle interaction to improve the photoactive properties, in particular their photobleaching resistance. In this project gold nanoparticles have typical dimensions in the 50-100 nm that are suitable for in vivo imaging and photodynamic therapy. Their geometrical shapes include nanoshell, spheres, rods, bipyramids and stars.