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Plasmonic Enhancement of Single-Molecule Fluorescence Near a Silver Nanoparticle

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Abstract

In this short paper, we reported the enhanced fluorescence from a single fluorophore bound to a 50nm silver nanoparticle. We found that on average the Cy5 molecules bound to metal nanoparticles are approximately 15-fold brighter than that of free dyes, and that single molecule lifetimes are shorter as compared to free fluorophores. The increased emission rate is primarily the result of local plasmon enhancement. These results demonstrate that the use of fluorophore-metal interactions can increase the brightness and photostability of fluorophores for single molecule detection.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a grant from NIH, HG-02655.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Fluorescence Spectroscopy, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 725 W. Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA

    Yi Fu, Jian Zhang & Joseph. R. Lakowicz

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  1. Yi Fu
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  2. Jian Zhang
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  3. Joseph. R. Lakowicz
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Correspondence to Joseph. R. Lakowicz.

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Fu, Y., Zhang, J. & Lakowicz, J.R. Plasmonic Enhancement of Single-Molecule Fluorescence Near a Silver Nanoparticle. J Fluoresc 17, 811–816 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10895-007-0259-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10895-007-0259-0

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