Watching Nanoparticles Form: Label-Free Optical Method Tracks Growth and Final Size
The Research group of Dr. Sachin Dev Verma, Department of Chemistry, developed iSCAT-FlucCS, a label-free optical technique that monitors nanoparticle synthesis in real time, measuring how particles grow and their final size in a single experiment. While techniques exist to measure nanoparticle size, they require completed synthesis, a static measurement after growth is finished. Tracking how particles actually form during synthesis has remained difficult. Most methods cannot measure both the growth process and the final morphology in the same instrument. iSCAT-FlucCS works by detecting scattered light from nanoparticles as they form and grow. During synthesis, it captures the growth trajectory, extracting kinetic parameters that describe how fast the process unfolds. Once synthesis ends, the same optical platform measures the final particle size from the same sample. The key advantage: in situ, continuous measurement throughout synthesis using minimal sample volume and no chemical labels or dyes. The technique works at extremely low concentrations where conventional methods fail, and it reveals the connection between how particles grow and their final shape or size. iSCAT-FlucCS provides insights into synthesis mechanisms through real-time monitoring that static measurements cannot capture, and their final morphology, opening new possibilities for controlling nanoparticle properties.For more details, kindly visit https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.6c02895
