Collaborative Research: N-Heterocyclic Carbene Functionalized Metal Films and Nanoparticles for Next-Generation Surface-Enhanced Spectroscopy and Sensing

在这个由化学系高分子、超分子和纳米化学项目资助的项目中，圣母大学的Jon Camden和Marya Lieberman教授以及田纳西大学的David Jenkins教授正在开发坚固、可重复使用和高度特定的纳米颗粒，用于对复杂生物和化学体系中的化学物种进行超灵敏检测。为了迎接这一挑战，对这些纳米颗粒进行了特殊和独特的表面化学修饰。经过表面修饰后，这些颗粒可以用作特定分子的传感器。这项工作还侧重于设计可用于低资源环境和药物测试的新分析方法。高度协作的性质将使在这些实验室工作的学生受益。这项研究的成功有可能对传感器的广泛应用产生影响，如成像细胞、检测痕量污染物和在实验室环境外分析样品。在过去的几十年里，等离子体纳米粒子和等离子体组件的独特光学性质推动了新的传感和成像模式的爆炸性发展。从基础研究到商业应用的研究证明了功能化金属纳米结构的广泛影响。在这项工作中，一种基于N-杂环卡宾的变换功能化方法被用于表面增强拉曼光谱(SERS)。这项合作工作特别针对过氧化氢的再生传感器和具有扩展范围的体外pH传感器。此外，还建立了使NHC功能化薄膜和胶体可供非专业观众使用的程序，方法是从传统的咪唑类化合物“一锅”合成改性表面。这些演示将展示这项新技术对更广泛的化学传感社区是多么有效。

In this project, funded by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular, and Nanochemistry program of the Chemistry Division, Professors Jon Camden and Marya Lieberman of the University of Notre Dame and Professor David Jenkins of the University of Tennessee are developing robust, reusable, and highly specific nanoparticles for ultrasensitive detection of chemical species in complex biological and chemical systems. To meet this challenge, special and unique chemical modification of the surface of these nanoparticles is done. After modification of the surfaces, these particles can be applied to serve as sensors for specific molecules. This effort is also focusing on devising new methods of analysis that can be used in low-resource environments and drug testing. The highly collaborative nature will benefit students working in these labs. The success of this research has the potential to impact a wide range of sensor applications such as imaging cells, detecting trace contaminants, and analyzing samples outside of a laboratory setting. The unique optical properties of plasmonic nanoparticles and plasmonic assemblies has driven an explosion of new sensing and imaging modalities over the past several decades. The wide-reaching impact of functionalized metallic nanostructures is evidenced by studies which range from fundamental research to commercial applications. In this work, a transformative functionalization approach based on N-heterocyclic carbenes is employed for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). This collaborative effort specifically targets a regenerative sensor for hydrogen peroxide and an in vitro pH sensor with expanded range. Additionally, procedures are established that make NHC functionalized films and colloids available to a non-specialist audience by proposing a "one-pot" synthesis of modified surfaces from conventional imidazoliums. These demonstrations will showcase how effective this new technology is for the broader chemical sensing community.