Plasmon resonance scattering spectroscopy at the single-nanoparticle level: real-time monitoring of a click reaction.

A method based on plasmon resonance Rayleigh scattering (PRRS) spectroscopy and dark-field microscopy (DFM) was established for the real-time monitoring of a click reaction at the single-nanoparticle level. Click reactions on the surface of single gold nanoparticles (GNPs) result in interparticle coupling, which leads to a red-shift of the λmax (Δλmax =43 nm) in the PRRS spectra and a color change of the single gold nanoparticles in DFM (from green to orange).