Effect of shape of silver nanoplates on the enhancement of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) signals.

The surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based sensor technique is based on the utilization of a noble metal to generate a surface plasmon electromagnetic field, which is then used to probe changes in the optical properties. Using nanoplates, it is possible to considerably enhance the sensitivity of a conventional SPR device. In this work, we investigated the effect of shape of silver nanoplates (AgNPs) on the enhancement of SPR sensitivity. By the use of bovine serum albumin (BSA) which has reversible pH-driven conformational change property, signal amplification effect on various shapes of AgNPs was studied. The proposed technique allows an enhancement of SPR sensitivity by coupling with a localized surface plasmon resonance of AgNPs. This novel platform could be used for sensing applications, or to detect and investigate the unique behaviors of nano-confined molecular systems.