Nanoparticles have been designed and applied as contrast enhancers in various optical imaging techniques, such as optical coherence tomography, fluorescence imaging, and optical reflectance microscopy. As an emerging hybrid imaging modality, photoacoustic imaging (PAI) has also benefited from the application of these nanoparticle-based contrast agents. We review this rapidly growing field and d...

Red-shifting of the optical absorption spectra of aggregates of gold nanoparticles by dipole-dipole interactions is of considerable interest, both for theoretical reasons and because the phenomenon can be potentially exploited in various applications. A convenient and practical way to control the effect is to assemble the aggregated ensemble of n gold nanoparticles on the outer surface of large...

Introduction: Mitoxantrone (MX) has been introduced as a photosensitizer drug. However, due to some side effects, the widespread use of this drug has been confronted with some limitations. Hollow gold nanoshells (HGN) have attracted considerable attention due to their interesting photochemical features that can use as nanocarrier. In this paper, the thermal response of MX and the use of this pr...

Research funded by this award focused on the synthesis of unique plasmonic nanoparticles, preparation of core-shell particles to enhance the generation of hydrogen via the photocatalytic splitting of water, and mechanistic studies of the charge transfer of such core-shell particles. A particular emphasis centered on the synthesis and study of hollow gold-silver nanoshells (GSNSs) having tunable...

Zirconia has attracted considerable attention because of its diverse practical applications in fuel-cell technology, its use as a catalyst or catalyst support, its ability to combine with sulfuric acid to form extremely strong acids, and its use as an oxygen sensor and as a possible high-dielectric-constant material for large-scale integrated circuits or as a gate dielectric in metal-oxide semi...

We investigate optical properties of a new complex plasmonic nanostructure, which consists of a spherical metallic nanoshell and a small metallic nanoparticle ("nanoknob") situated on its surface. The plasmon resonance wavelength of the entire structure is guided by the geometrical and material properties of the nanoshell whereas the electromagnetic field of the incident light is localized and ...