Mesoporous silica thin films as a spatially extended probe of interfacial electric fields for amplified signal transduction in surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy

Abstract

A new simpler concept about the signal amplification of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) that is based on the utilization of mesoporous silica thin films is demonstrated. As compared to monolayer based coatings, mesoporous silica thin films of ∼200 nm extend the interaction arena away from the metal, thus permitting the integration of the change in optical contrast at different distances from the sensor surface.