Interfacial Interaction
We are interested in the ligand adsorption, desorption, displacement, and reaction on the plasmonic gold nanoparticle and silver nanoparticles (AuNPs and AgNPs). The model ligands include proteins, DNA, and small molecules such as electrolytes, organothiols, thioamides, and other organic species. The most significant new findings from our studies includes:
1) organothiols binding to AuNPs differs significantly from that to AgNPs. While the mono- and di-thiol forms monolayer binding to AuNPs, they continuously react with AgNPs until total consumption of the AgNPs or the organothiols.
2) Ion pairing, the directly cation and anion coadsorption onto AuNP is an important pathway for electrolyte bindings to AuNPs and it can accounted for a series of experimental observations can’t be explained by the electrical double layer theory.
3) Protein and multicomponent ligand binding to AuNPs is highly dynamic in nature and it is very likely for ligands to reach an equilibrated state on AuNP surfaces.
