Energy transfer with gold nanoparticles for analytical applications in the fields of biochemical and pharmaceutical sciences

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are the most interesting nanomaterials for analytical purposes owing to their unique optical and electrochemical properties resulting from the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of the electrons, displaying strong absorption and scattering of light from visible to near-infrared region by tuning the particles sizes and shapes. In fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) process, AuNPs have been identified to act as excellent acceptors to replace traditional organic quenchers. Starting from quenching advantages of AuNPs in FRET system and energy transfer mechanism of donor to AuNPs, herein we try to summarize and discuss typical AuNPs based FRET methods in terms of DNA hybridizations, immunoreactions, specific molecular bindings or adsorptions, and provide their analytical applications in biochemical and pharmaceutical analysis.