(431d) Probing Nanoscopic Origins of Adsorbate-Driven Liquid Crystal Ordering Transitions Using Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance of Gold Nanodots

This presentation will report that localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) of gold nanodots immersed under liquid crystals (LCs) can be used to characterize adsorbate-induced ordering transitions of LCs. The adsorbate-induced nanoscopic changes in ordering of the LCs, as measured by LSPR, will be shown to give rise to macroscopic ordering transitions of the LCs that can be observed by polarized light microscopy. The results to be described in this presentation are significant because they demonstrate that (i) LCs can be used to enhance the sensitivity of LSPR-based detection of binding events, and (ii) that LSPR measurements using gold nanodots provide a means to characterize the nanoscopic origins of macroscopic, adsorbate-induced LC ordering transitions.