Positively charged Au nanospheres are found to form aggregates on the bacterial surface, resulting in significantly enhanced two-photon photoluminescence (TPPL). The enhanced TPPL is successfully utilized to image bacterial cells in the NIR region. In addition, these Au nanospheres effectively eradicate the bacterial cells by laser pulses in the same NIR region due to the photothermal effect.
Keywords: Au nanospheres; imaging; photoantibacterial; plasmon resonance; two-photon excitation.
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