Molecular self-assembly and colloid reduction chemistry were used to fabricate gold nanoshells Au@SiO₂ with core-shell structures. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) and UV-vis spectrophotometer were employed to investigate the fabrication process of Au@SiO₂ and their optical properties in whole blood. Our results demonstrate that by varying the concentrations of composite particles Au-APTES-SiO₂, the gold nanoshells with appropriate core-shell ratio could be obtained and the plasmon resonances of these nanopaticles could be located in the infrared region of the spectrum, suggesting that gold nanoshells with infrared extinction properties have potential biological applications.

Key words: gold nanoshell, core-shell structure, plasmon resonance, whole blood