Indium nanodeposits: A substrate for metal-enhanced fluorescence in the ultraviolet spectral region

Date

2010-11-03

Department

Program

Citation of Original Publication

Dragan, Anatoliy I., and Chris D. Geddes. “Indium Nanodeposits: A Substrate for Metal-Enhanced Fluorescence in the Ultraviolet Spectral Region.” Journal of Applied Physics 108, no. 9 (November 3, 2010): 094701. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3503439.

Rights

This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. This article appeared in Dragan, Anatoliy I., and Chris D. Geddes. “Indium Nanodeposits: A Substrate for Metal-Enhanced Fluorescence in the Ultraviolet Spectral Region.” Journal of Applied Physics 108, no. 9 (November 3, 2010): 094701. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3503439. and may be found at https://pubs.aip.org/aip/jap/article/108/9/094701/345267/Indium-nanodeposits-A-substrate-for-metal-enhanced.

Subjects

Abstract

We have studied a metallic substrate, composed of indium nanodeposits, for metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF) in the ultraviolet (UV) spectral region. Indium coated slides were prepared using the thermal vapor deposition technique. Theoretical finite difference time domain simulations and experimental studies show that plasmon enhanced absorption and coupled radiation through the scattering component of the extinction spectra of indium nanoparticles, lie in UV region, and are sensitive to the size and density of the nanoparticles, the thickness of the indium film, and polarity of the medium. The MEF effect, measured for intrinsic protein tryptophan and tyrosine residues, loaded onto indium films of different thickness, changes in a wavelike fashion, reflecting changes in the metal film landscape and, consequently, the chromophores coupling with surface plasmons. Indium films also significantly enhance intrinsic fluorescence of proteins themselves [bovine serum albumin]. In this case the wavelength dependence of MEF shows different emission enhancements of protein Tyr and Trp residues. Subsequently, indium-enhanced intrinsic protein fluorescence in the UV spectral region can be of great potential importance for quantitation assays as well as for the labeless detection of biomolecules in the biosciences.