Hybrid Structures for Surface‐Enhanced Raman Scattering: DNA Origami/Gold Nanoparticle Dimer/Graphene

Abstract

A combination of three innovative materials within one hybrid structure to explore the synergistic interaction of their individual properties is presented. The unique electronic, mechanical, and thermal properties of graphene are combined with the plasmonic properties of gold nanoparticle (AuNP) dimers, which are assembled using DNA origami nanostructures. This novel hybrid structure is characterized by means of correlated atomic force microscopy and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). It is demonstrated that strong interactions between graphene and AuNPs result in superior SERS performance of the hybrid structure compared to their individual components. This is particularly evident in efficient fluorescence quenching, reduced background, and a decrease of the photobleaching rate up to one order of magnitude. The versatility of DNA origami structures to serve as interface for complex and precise arrangements of nanoparticles and other functional entities provides the basis to further exploit the potential of the here presented DNA origami-AuNP dimer-graphene hybrid structures.

FRET efficiency and antenna effect in multi-color DNA origami-based light harvesting systems

“…21,22 Since every staple strand can be addressed and modied individually and separately, different moieties can be arranged with a high local control since the exact position of each staple strand in the DNA origami structure is known. DNA origami structures have been used to create highly sensitive SERS substrates by attaching gold nanoparticle dimers, [23][24][25] to analyze DNA strand breaks induced by low energy electrons 26,27 and UV photons 28 and to arrange different uo-rophores 29,29,30 at precise distances to create nanoscale photonic devices which can be used for example as photonic wires, 15,18 to resolve conformational changes of biomolecules, [31][32][33][34] as logic gates 35,36 and articial light harvesting complexes. 8,10,18 The light harvesting efficiency is in this context typically expressed as an antenna effect (AE), i.e.…”

Light‐Assisted Charge Propagation in Networks of Organic Semiconductor Crystallites on Hexagonal Boron Nitride

“…Preparation of hBN and hBN/Graphite Stacks : Flakes of hBN were prepared by mechanical exfoliation from single crystals (obtained from hq graphene), using a “scotch‐tape” method, as described in ref. . Thicker hBN flakes—≈200 µm wide—with height between 80 and 160 nm were chosen due to enhancement in optical contrast of DHTA7 crystallite networks, allowing fast inspection of the crystallites simply by means of optical microscopy.…”

Bombyx mori silk/titania/gold hybrid materials for photocatalytic water splitting: combining renewable raw materials with clean fuels

“…Laser wavelength was 532 nm and laser power was 14 mW. The laser was coupled into a single mode optical fiber and focusing on the sample was achieved via an Olympus MPlanFL N (NA = 0.9) 100× objective yielding a probe area of 1.3 µm 2 [ 56 ]. Raman spectra were obtained with an integration time of 50 s from 0–1200 cm −1 and the grating of the spectrograph was set to 1800 g/nm to avoid laser-induced damage in the samples.…”