Gold Nanoshells

Gold nanoshells consist of a dielectric core nanoparticle surrounded by a thin metal shell. By varying the relative dimensions of the core and shell constituents, one can design particles to either absorb or scatter light over the visible and much of the infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. (A) These vials contain suspensions of either gold colloid (far left with its characteristic red color) or gold nanoshells with varying core:shell dimensions. (B) The optical properties of nanoshells are predicted by Mie scattering theory. For a core of a given size, forming thinner shells pushes the optical resonance to longer wavelengths.


ENGINEERED NANOMATERIALS FOR BIOPHOTONICS APPLICATIONS: Improving Sensing, Imaging, and Therapeutics, Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering, 2003