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Project

Monolayer-Protected Metal Clusters for Multimodal Imaging Applications.

Tiny metal particles with sizes of a few nanometers (one billionth of a meter; a human hair is about 1,000 times thicker) show interesting properties that strongly differ from those of the bulk metal. Recently, extensive research efforts have been dedicated to the study of the structures and properties of gold nanoparticles composed of only several tens of gold atoms. This special class of nanoparticles ('clusters') shows intriguing properties with high potential for applications in catalysis, sensing and imaging of biological tissue. The gold clusters are stabilized by a layer of organic molecules which allow for their functionalization. It is proposed to explore the potential of clusters in nonlinear optical (NLO) imaging applications. In these, the particles are irradiated with near infrared light and emit visible light. This frequency doubling is advantageous compared to conventional optical microscopy since a deeper penetration of the sample can be achieved. The NLO properties of a variety of gold clusters (different sizes and different protecting groups) will be assessed. In addition, magnetic clusters will be prepared from metals such as iron or nickel, which will be screened for MRI applications. The resulting clusters will be of use in 'multimodal imaging', the combination of NLO and MRI. Furthermore, defined networks of cluster will be prepared and characterized. The individual clusters will be bridged via metal complexes, allowing control over their structures.

Date:1 Oct 2015 →  30 Sep 2018
Keywords:Monolayer-Protected Metal Clusters, Multimodal Imaging Applications
Disciplines:Classical physics, Elementary particle and high energy physics, Other physical sciences