Achievement

Lindsey Anderson, Kathryn Mayer and Courtney Payne were co investigators on a study of nanorods and the surface modification of nanorods for in vivo biomedical imaging. Gold nanorods are of considerable interest for biomedical applications due to their small size, tunability of the plasmon to the near infra red, and permeability into cells. As synthesized nanorods are coated in a surfactant that passivates the surface and prevents antibody conjugation to the gold surface. The co investigators working across three research groups at Rice developed an alternative passivating PEG layer with a free carboxyl group that allows antibody conjugation to the nanorods. Using optical spectroscopies the antibodies were quantified and the application of the NR conjugates to in vivo imaging was demonstrated.