Metal nanoclusters, also known as plasmonic oligomers, could be used as efficient “Fano resonance-based” biosensors and for detecting and identifying single molecules. So say researchers in the UK, Germany, Singapore and Hong Kong who have studied the behaviour of plasmonic pentamers and quadrumers that have been functionalized with nanometre-thick alkanethiol monolayers. The oligomers interact with light more strongly than isolated, uncoupled nanoparticles thanks to multiple plasmonic “hot spots” created in each nanocluster…..
http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/58586