Open Access
June 8, 2016
Abstract
We demonstrate that SiO 2 nanoparticles coated with a gold island film (GIF) provide an efficient plasmonic platform for enhancing fluorescence intensity of chlorophyll-containing photosynthetic complexes. Fluorescence images obtained for single SiO 2 -Au coreshell nanoparticles mixed with photosynthetic complexes reveal very uniform emission patterns of a circular shape, similarly as observed for bare SiO 2 nanoparticles. The fluorescence enhancement of chlorophyll emission for SiO 2 -Au nanostructures is up to four-fold compared to bare SiO 2 nanoparticles and shortening of fluorescence decay indicates its plasmonic origin. For doublets or triplets of core-shell SiO 2 -Au nanoparticles, the intensity of emission is further increased as a result of hot-spot formation at the interfaces of such assemblies.
Open Access