BioNanoPlasmonics Lab

Chiroptical Control of Gold Nanoparticle Growth through Combination of a Multimodal Chirality Inducer and Surfactant Counterion Chiral plasmonic nanomaterials display strong interactions with circularly polarized light, offering significant potential in chirality sensing, enantioselective catalysis, and biomedical applications. While recent advances in seeded-growth synthesis have yielded complex chiral gold nanostructures through chemically induced or micelle-directed growth mechanisms, detailed intercorrelated mechanisms remain elusive. In this context, we have systematically investigated the versatility of the chiral inducer 2-amino-N-decyl-3-mercaptopropanamide (LipoCYS), which incorporates both an amino acid moiety and an aliphatic chain designed to bridge both established mechanisms. By employing cubic and octahedral achiral gold seeds and varying the surfactant halides, along with the concentration of LipoCYS, we generated a wide range of chiral morphologies, from twisted helicoids to intricate wrinkled spheres and intermediate structures. Advanced electron microscopy, including electron tomography, enabled comprehensive three-dimensional characterization and revealed distinct chiral morphological transitions and their correlations with chiroptical properties. Excellent agreement was found with the simulation results, thereby validating the representativeness of the microscopic analysis. Our findings expand the synthetic toolbox available for the precise control of nanoparticle chirality, providing deeper insights into the mechanisms of chiral growth and enhancing their potential for tailored applications.

Check out our latest #ACSnano publication, a work based on the collaboration between @lizmarzan-lab.bsky.social and @ematsarabals.bsky.social, partners in #CHIRAL-PRO, together with #SeoulNationalUniversity and @cicaudc.bsky.social. Read the paper here! pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
@erc.europa.eu

Our article has been selected as a Chemical Science HOT paper! Check out the full collection at rsc.li/3GJTz2h and read the full paper here: pubs.rsc.org/doi/D5SC04459F #ChemSciHOT

@erc.europa.eu
@lizmarzan-lab.bsky.social
@ematsarabals.bsky.social

Could you differentiate these images?
Check the article released in #NatureNanotechnology about the need to strengthen best practices to avoid manipulation by AI. Here: rdcu.be/eGoGG

@lizmarzan-lab.bsky.social @ematsarabals.bsky.social @u-m.bsky.social @cicbiomagune.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu

High-Yield In Situ Growth of Supported Gold Nanorods in Microfluidic Channels Plasmonic gold nanoparticle size and shape can be engineered via chemical synthesis to achieve strong light-matter interactions at specific wavelengths. However, incorporation of tailored nanoparticles into functional devices is often limited by multistep, time-consuming processes specific to the type of substrate and nanoparticles. In situ growth is an unconventional bottom-up approach where nanoparticles are grown directly on the target substrate, thereby circumventing colloidal synthesis and surface attachment. Despite these advantages, there remains a considerable gap in synthetic control and product quality between particles grown in situ and their counterparts prepared in colloidal dispersion. Herein, we present optimized in situ strategies for the growth of anisotropic gold nanoparticles directly on the internal walls of microfluidic channels, with no need for any top-down lithography or colloidal synthesis steps. Careful optimization enabled us to obtain shape-yields for gold nanorods around 90% (with size dispersion down to 15%)─a significant improvement compared to previous approaches, which have reported a maximum yield <37%. This result relied on identifying synthetic conditions that largely favor surface growth over colloidal growth in the flowing solution, which could be tuned through surface chemistry and flow rate. Overall, these results emphasize the potential of in situ growth as a viable alternative to colloidal synthesis, with high control over the synthesis of anisotropic products directly on a substrate surface. We propose that microfluidic systems containing in situ prepared nanostructures are promising for sensing applications, offering full control over nanoparticle crystallography, morphology, and surface chemistry.

High-Yield In Situ Growth of Supported Gold Nanorods in Microfluidic Channels. Collaboration @lizmarzan-lab.bsky.social NanoOddLab @erc.europa.eu published in ACS Nano pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Twisted and wrinkled helicoids a la carte using a tailored chirality inducer. Great collaboration with @ematsarabals.bsky.social Ki Tae Nam and @nanoself.bsky.social @cicbiomagune.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu @cinbio.bsky.social
Now published #OpenAccess

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

How do DNA strands on Au NPs interact? Read our collaboration work @cicbiomagune.bsky.social @ematsarabals.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu just published in @chemicalscience.rsc.org

pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

Wavelength‐Dependent Differential Amplification of Raman Scattering by Chiral Gold Nanorods for Multiplexed Encoding The SERS spectra of reporter molecules adsorbed on chiral gold nanorods depends on the handedness of circularly polarized light (CPL-SERS). The bisignate plasmonic CD spectra of chiral nanorods provi...

Check the new #AdvFunctMater report on the combination of #chiral plasmonic nanoparticles and SERS scattering, by the team at @cinbio.bsky.social @uvigo.bsky.social and @cicbiomagune.bsky.social
Read it here! advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
@erc.europa.eu @lizmarzan-lab.bsky.social

Michigan Chemical Engineering Faculty Leads International Collaboration on Chiral Nanoparticles Project - Chemical Engineering New interdisciplinary global research project to develop infrastructure for nanostructures to advance the frontiers of biosensing and metamaterials.

We share the article of @umich.edu about the #ChiralPro collaboration with @cicbiomagune.bsky.social @uvigo.bsky.social and @uantwerpen.be to explore the revolutionary potential of #chirality in nanostructures for #biosensing
@erc.europa.eu #synergyGrant

che.engin.umich.edu/2025/06/17/m...

📢 We are looking for potential candidates interested in applying for Postdoctoral Fellowships programme (HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF-01-01) in the areas of #nanomaterials and #biomedicine.
ℹ️ More info 👉 bit.ly/4mPXKtI
We are waiting for you! 😉

#EUfunds #FondosEuropeos #teamCINBIO #HR @uvigo.bsky.social

🚨𝐉𝐨𝐛 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫: 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗸𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 🚨

🗓️ Deadline: 31st July 2025
🔬 Envisaged start date: 2025 (negotiable)
📍 Location: San Sebastian (Spain)

For more info and to apply: www.cicbiomagune.es/job-offer-de...

Check the postdoctoral position available to work at @cicbiomagune.bsky.social under the supervision of Professor @lizmarzan-lab.bsky.social
Click here and don't miss this opportunity!
www.cicbiomagune.es/job-offer-de...

#bionanoplasmonics #nanomaterials #synergyGrant @erc.europa.eu

Today we welcomed Prof. María Contel (@contellab.bsky.social), Director of Brooklyn College Cancer Center, for a seminar on her lab’s research into the anticancer potential of gold-based heterometallic compounds.
#CancerResearch #MedicinalChemistry

Concluding the project´s KOM feeling very happy about all the helpful discussions. Looking forward for the next meeting!!
@ematsarabals.bsky.social‬ @lizmarzan-lab.bsky.social @u-m.bsky.social @uantwerpen.be @uvigo.bsky.social @cinbio.bsky.social @cicbiomagune.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu

🚨𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 🚨

🗓️ Deadline for applications: 30th June 2025
🔬 Envisaged Start date: September 2025
📍 Location: San Sebastian (Spain)

More information: tinyurl.com/3rxynv5x

Three-Dimensional Electron Microscopy of Chiral Nanoparticles: From Imaging to Measuring The increasing interest in plasmonic nanoparticles with intrinsic chirality, i.e., reduced symmetry and strong optical activity, calls for characterization beyond qualitative imaging. In this context,...

We´re happy to share the first Chiral-Pro paper "Three-Dimensional Electron Microscopy of Chiral Nanoparticles: From Imaging to Measuring", in #NanoLetters. Check it here!! pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....

@lizmarzan-lab.bsky.social @cicbiomagune.bsky.social @ematsarabals.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu

Maurizio Prato, profesor Ikerbasque y líder del Laboratorio de Bionanotecnología del Carbono de #CICbiomaGUNE, recibe el premio #BRTA 2025 a su trayectoria investigadora. Para leer más sobre su investigación 👇
cicbiomagune.es/index.php/ne...

🧪 La ciencia no se hace sola… y la divulgación, tampoco. En esta foto grupal no están todos los que son, pero sí son todos los que están.

💙Gracias al equipo de personas de #CICbiomaGUNE que ha hecho posible esta edición de @pintofscience.es en Donostia.

#Pint25ES #PINT25DSS #DivulgaciónCientífica

Today our Bachelor student Dakota Van Aerden presented her work on 3D characterization of chiral nanorods, made by @lizmarzan-lab.bsky.social in the framework of the @erc.europa.eu project Chiral-Pro. Well done Dakota 👏👏👏

The main objective of CHIRAL-PRO is to develop a widely applicable methodology to design chiral #nanoparticles with exceptional optical activity, for strong and predictable enantioselective interactions with biomolecules as proteins and amyloid fibrils.
#Bionanoplasmonics #synergyGrant

We are glad to present the CHIRAL-PRO, a collaborative project between @cicbiomagune.bsky.social @uvigo.bsky.social @uantwerpen.be and @u-m.bsky.social, awarded awarded with a Synergy Grant from @erc.europa.eu