Gold island films on indium tin oxide for localized surface plasmon sensing

Mechanically, chemically and optically stable gold island films were prepared on indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates by direct thermal evaporation of thin gold films (2-6 nm) without the need for pre- or post-coating. The effect of mild thermal annealing (150 °C, 12 h) or short high temperature annealing (500 °C, 1 min) on the morphology of the gold nanostructures was investigated. ITO covered with 2 nm gold nanoislands and annealed at 500 °C for 1 min was investigated for its ability to detect the adsorption of biotinylated bovine serum albumin using local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), and its subsequent molecular recognition of avidin.