Useful Optical Properties of Nanomaterials

Revision with unchanged content. Commonly these days, nanostructured metallic and semiconductor materials are being found outside of their comfortable organic environments, having been relocated by scientists to the somewhat unfamiliar surroundings of a new biological neighborhood such as a Petri dish, a cell, or even the bloodstream. Why would scientists want to place inorganic compounds into these strange locations? Are nanomaterials significantly different from smaller molecular probes normally used in cell staining or optical experiments? Especially when the harsher oxidizing or acidic conditions could destroy these elegantly synthesized, cutting-edge materials? This book is meant to address the "surface" of these issues, focusing on synthetic techniques to produce the more popular metallic and semiconductor nanomaterials, the conjugation of biologically relevant molecules to them, and even special optical properties which may substitute popular techniques such as FRET. Professionals in either bio-nano industry or research and development may find this book particularly useful and interesting.