Composite Plasmonic SERS Tags with Embedded Raman Reporters

Gold and composite Au@Ag layered nanoparticles, in which Raman molecules (RMs) are embedded in a nanometer-sized gap between metal layers, have great potential in biomedical applications as highly efficient imaging SERS probes. Compared to common tags with outer RMs exciting by plasmonic near field, the embedded RMs of new probes are protected from environmental conditions and subjected to a strongly enhanced internal field in the gap. Another type of efficient SERS tags are the tip functionalized Au(core)@Ag(shell) nanorods (NRs) operating in off-resonance mode. In this talk, we summarize our recent efforts in fabrication, electromagnetic simulation, and bioimaging application of gold based Au@RM@Au and hybrid AuNR@RM@Ag SERS tags.