Thursday, 20th April 2006 (4263 views)

Researchers have discovered that tiny gold "nanostar" particles could be used as powerful chemical sensors.

The scientists, from the Laboratory for Nanophotonics at Houston's Rice University, have found that the shape of nanoparticles could be as important for scientific applications as size. The gold nanostars have a spiky surface that has drawn the attention of experts.

Researcher Jason Hafner explained: "Today, researchers are increasingly interested in intricate shapes and the specific ways that those shapes affect a particle's interaction with light."

The star-shaped particles could help with the research team's study of plasmonics, which involves waves of electrons flowing across metal surfaces. The technique could be used in various applications such as chemical detection and medical technology.

Nanostars apparently display good properties of photonic particles and have a unique "spectral signature" that could be useful for 3-D molecular sensing.

"We are just getting started with our follow-up work, but nanostars clearly offer some exciting possibilities," Hafner concluded.

The research is to be published in a forthcoming issue of the Nano Letters journal.

 

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