Gold-nanorod-based hybrid cellular probe with multifunctional properties

Hybrid nanoparticles having multimodal imaging/detection and magnetic separation option are considered as a useful probe in understanding cellular function. Here we have synthesized gold-nanorod-based plasmonic-fluorescent, plasmonic-magnetic, and plasmonic-fluorescent-magnetic hybrid cellular probe and showed that they can be used as dual-imaging or imaging-separation purpose. In the hybrid probes, the nanorod component acts as dark-field contrast agent, the quantum dot acts as a fluorescence probe, and the magnetic iron oxide offers magnetic separation. The hybrid nanoparticles have good colloidal stability under physiological condition and option for further functionalization with different affinity molecules. Oleyl- and glucose-functionalized hybrid nanoprobes have been synthesized and used as dual imaging probes and for magnetic separation. A variety of other multifunctional nanoprobes can be derived for specific cellular targeting, imaging, and separation application.