Paula Aldeanueva-Potel defended her Ph.D. thesis, entitled "Design of Nanostructured Materials as Substrates for SERS Detection" on January 12, 2012 under co-supervision of Dr. Ramón Alvarez-Puebla and Prof. Luis M. Liz-Marzán. The jury awarded her with the maximum qualification and the "cum laude" distinction. CONGRATULATIONS!

Luis Liz-Marzán has been appointed as Editorial Advisory Board member for three journals. He joins the first editorial advisory board for a newly launched open access journal from Wiley-VCH and ChemPubSoc Europe, ChemistryOpen. Additionally, he accepted to join the Editorial Advisory Board of a well established ACS journal, Chemistry of Materials and of a new section within the prestigious Advanced Materials, which will be dedicated to Advanced Optical Materials.

As published in the latest issue of Photonics Online, the Optical Society of America has announced the list of members who have been elevated to the rank of Fellow. This is a recognition to OSA members "who have significantly contributed to the advancement of optics and photonics".

Our letter on "Growth of Sharp Tips on Gold Nanowires Leads to Increased Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Activity" has been selected for a Hot Papers Virtual Special Issue in J. Phys. Chem. Letters. This new initiative of the editors includes a powerpoint presentation describing the work reported in each paper. Please have a look!

Our review on "LSPR-based nanobiosensors" (collaboration with Lechuga's group at CIN2) is listed as one of the Most Cited Nano Today Articles.

Our review on "Directed Self-Assembly of Nanoparticles" (collaboration with Jan Vermant at U. Leuven and Eric Furst at U. Delaware) is listed as one of the Most Cited ACS Nano Articles of all time.

Our perspective on "Light Concentration at the Nanometer Scale" (collaboration with Javier García de Abajo at CSIC) is listed as one of the Most Cited Articles in J. Phys. Chem. Letters.

Five papers from the Colloid Chemistry Group have been selected for the J. Phys. Chem. Virtual Special Issue on "Plasmon Resonances - A Physical Chemistry Perspective".

Isabel Pastoriza-Santos has been awarded one of the five research grants given by L'Oreal within the sixth edition of the Spanish L'Oréal-UNESCO "For Women in Science" research grants. The award ceremony has taken place last friday at the Royal Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences in Madrid.

Our paper on Reversible assembly of metal nanoparticles induced by penicillamine. Dynamic formation of SERS hot spots, has been featured on the inside front cover of issue 42 (October 20, 2011) of Journal of Materials Chemistry. This paper describes the pH-reversible assembly of gold and silver nanoparticles by penicylamine derivatives, which not only induces optical changes but also allows reversible SERS detection.

The Basque company Burdinola has announced that Luis Liz-Marzán has been selected to receive the 16th Burdinola research award. The specific topic of the award has been the application of nanotechnology to diagnostic and therapy. Among over twenty high profile candidates, the jury selected the contributions made by the Colloid Chemistry Group to the development of gold and silver nanoparticles and in particular their applications in sensing and diagnostics. According to the press release, this is a recognition of the high quality of our work and the impact it has made in the scientific community.

Enrique Carbó-Argibay defended his Ph.D. thesis, entitled "Tuning the Morphology of Gold Nanorods: Mechanisms and Optical Studies" on June 06, 2011 under co-supervision of Prof. Luis M. Liz-Marzán, Dr. Isabel Pastoriza-Santos and Dr. Jorge Pérez-Juste. The jury was composed of top experts in the field: Prof. Javier García de Abajo (CSIC), Prof. Paul Mulvaney (Univ. Melbourne), Prof. Catherine J. Murphy (Univ. Illinois), Prof. Peter Nordlander (Rice Univ.) and Dr. Ramón Alvarez-Puebla (Univ. Vigo). Enrique did a great job and got the "cum laude" distinction. CONGRATULATIONS!

Two of our recent papers have been identified by ISI Essential Science Indicators as "hot papers", defined as "...papers that receive citations soon after publication, relative to other papers of the same field and age". Age for hot papers is measured in two-month periods, and only those papers published in the last two years are scanned to see if they are receiving more citations than the norm. Our new hot papers are:
R. Alvarez-Puebla, L.M. Liz-Marzán, F.J. García de Abajo, Light Concentration at the Nanometer Scale
J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2010, 1, 2428-2434

M. Grzelczak, J. Vermant, E.M. Furst, L.M. Liz-Marzán, Directed Self-Assembly of Nanoparticles
ACS Nano 2010, 4, 3591-3605

Our communication on Interplay of Resonant Cavity Modes with Localized Surface Plasmons: Optical Absorption Properties of Bragg Stacks Integrating Gold Nanoparticles, has been featured on the inside front cover of issue 18 (May 10, 2011) of Advanced Materials. This paper describes A procedure to prepare porous photonic crystal resonators containing gold nanoparticles, so that the optical absorption is finely tuned by a gradual shift of the cavity mode. The research has been carried out in close collaboration with Dr. Hernán Míguez at the Spanish Research Council (CSIC)

One of the most prestigious chemistry journals, Angewandte Chemie, has published in its latest issue (Vol. 50, issue 17) an Author Profile article dedicated to the Colloid Chemistry Group leader, Luis Liz-Marzán.

Our review article on Controlled assembly of plasmonic colloidal nanoparticle clusters, has been featured on the cover of issue 4 (April 2011) of Nanoscale. This paper provides a review of colloid chemistry methods for creating clusters of nanoparticles with plasmonics applications

See the program for more information.
Please, send an email to colloids@uvigo.es to submit your registration.

Our review article on Controlled assembly of plasmonic colloidal nanoparticle clusters, has been the third most accessed article of the RSC journal Nanoscale during the past month of january. This paper provides a review of colloid chemistry methods for creating clusters of nanoparticles with plasmonics applications.

As a result of winning the annual Nano Today cover competition, an image submitted by Marek Grzelczak features the first issue of Volume 6. The image shows highly anisotropic gold nanowires driving the oriented assembly of spherical gold nanoparticles into extended ordered arrays. Such assemblies form spontaneously upon solvent evaporation over large centimetre areas

In its latest prestigious competition for 'Advanced Grants', the European Research Council (ERC) has awarded some €590 million to 266 established research leaders. The grants will allow them to pursue their innovative, 'blue sky' research throughout Europe. 13 of these grants will be developed in Spain and one of them has been awarded to Luis Liz-Marzán and the Colloid Chemistry Group at Universidade de Vigo. The title of the project is "Development of plasmonic quorum sensors for understanding bacterial-eukaryotic ell relations". More information on the results of the call can be found at the ERC Press release.

Our paper on Controlled assembly of plasmonic colloidal nanoparticle clusters, published in Nanoscale, has been identified by RSC Publishing (the publishing body of the Royal Society of Chemistry) as the one millionth paper published by them.

The cover image from our perspective article Light Concentration at the Nanometer Scale, published last year in J. Phys. Chem. Lett. has been selected for a collage that illustrates the covers of issue 1 of all journals of The Journal of Physical Chemistry family (A,B,C,Lett.).

Our paper on Binary Self-Assembly of Gold Nanowires with Nanospheres and Nanorods, has been chosen as a Hot Paper ("for their importance in a rapidly evolving field of high current interest") by the editors of the highly reputed journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

Our progress report on Recent Progress on Silica Coating of Nanoparticles and Related Nanomaterials, has been one of the most accessed articles of Advanced Materials during the last year. This paper provides a review of the development of colloid chemistry methods for coating different types of nanoparticles with uniform silica shells.

The jury of the Premio DuPont de la Ciencia (DuPont Award for Science) has selected Prof. Luis Liz-Marzán as the recipient of the 20th edition of this prestigious award. This is a new recognition of the scientific contributions made by our group in the application of of colloid science for nanoplasmonics.

Our article on Growth of pentatwinned gold nanorods into truncated decahedra, has been featured in the front cover of issue 11 (November 3, 2010) of Nanoscale.

Two of our recently published papers are included in the list of most downloaded articles of Nano Today. The first paper, published in 2009, is a review on surface plasmon-based biosensors, whereas the second, published in 2010, is a communication on the preparation of uniform and efficient SERS substrates (see publication list).

Our mini-review on Synthetic routes and plasmonic properties of noble metal nanoplates, has been featured in the front cover of a Special Issue on "One- and Two-Dimensional Inorganic Nanomaterials" (September, 2010) of European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry.

Our article on Tailoring the Magnetic Properties of Nickel Nanoshells through Controlled Chemical Growth, has been featured in the front cover of issue 35 (September 21, 2010) of Journal of Materials Chemistry.

A promotional video has been released in connection to our perspective article on Light Concentration at the Nanometer Scale. These videos are published by invitation only and provide visual information on the content of the article. Please watch the video at http://pubs.acs.org/page/jpclcd/ramon-video.html.

Our review article on Directed Self-Assembly of Nanoparticles, has been one of the most read articles of ACS Nano during the last month. This review provides a fresh overview of the different processes involved in the assembly of colloidal nanoparticles under the influence of various forces and external fields.

Our perspective article on Light Concentration at the Nanometer Scale, has been featured in the front cover of issue 16 (August 19, 2010) of the first volume of Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters.

Our communication on Growing Au/Ag Nanoparticles within Microgel Colloids for Improved Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering, has been featured at Wiley-VCH Hot Topics, a selection of the most relevant publications on important topics.

Our review article on Environmental applications of plasmon assisted Raman scattering, has been featured in the front cover of issue 8 (August 1, 2010) of volume 3 of Energy & Environmental Science.

Our edge article on Gold Nanoparticle nanoimprinting toward generation of highly uniform SERS substrates, has been featured in the front cover of issue 2 (July 12, 2010) of the first volume of the new flagship journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Chemical Science.

Our concept paper SERS-Based Diagnosis and Biodetection, recently published in Small has been featured at the web portal of Wiley Interscience as a Hot Topic in Surfaces and Interfaces. This paper is also listed as the most downloaded paper in Small during 02/2010

The 2010 "Symposium for Humboldt Awardees" has taken place in Bamberg (Germany) on March 18-20. During this symposium, Luis Liz-Marzánreceived from the President of the Humboldt Foundation, Prof. Dr. Helmut Schwarz, the A. v.-Humboldt-J- C- Mutis Research Award. This is a recognition for excellent accomplishments in research.

Our review article on Recent Progress on Silica Coating of Nanoparticles and Related Nanomaterials, has been featured in the front cover of issue 11 (March 19, 2010) of Advanced Materials.

The University Council of the University of Melbourne (Australia) has offered Prof. Luis Liz-Marzán an appointment as the Wilsmore Fellow in the Schhol of Chemistry of the University of Melbourne. This Fellowship is funded by the Norman Thomas Mortimer Wilsmore Research Fund, and its objective is the appointment from time to time of a visiting research fellow who is distinguished in the field of chemistry. The appointment will be made during the coming month of July and will allow Prof. Liz-Marzán to deliver lectures, to reinforce existing collaborations and to establish discussions with faculty and students at the School of Chemistry and other Australian institutions.

Luis Liz-Marzán has been elected by his peers in Spain to become President of the Specialized Group for Colloids and Interfaces (GECI) of the Spanish Royal Societies of Chemistry and Physics. The appointment is for three years.

Our paper on Gemini-Surfactant-Directed Self-Assembly of Monodisperse Gold Nanorods into Standing Superlattices, has been featured in the front cover of issue 50 (December 7, 2009) of Angewandte Chemie.

Luis Liz-Marzán, Professor at the Colloid Chemistry Group, has been elected recipient of the prestigious A. v.-Humboldt-J- C- Mutis Research Award. This award has been granted in recognition of past accomplishments in research and teaching. The award is linked to undertaking collaboration with colleagues in Germany, and these will be arranged with Prof. Horst Weller (University of Hamburg) and Prof. Markus Antonietti (Max-Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Golm).

Our paper Recyclable Molecular Trapping and SERS Detection in Silver-Loaded Agarose Gels with Dynamic Hot Spots has been featured at the web portal of the ACS journal Analytical Chemistry.

Nano Today has recently been renewed as an international magazine for researchers with interests across the whole of nanoscience and technology. In this new version, which is covered by Thomson Scientific and has received an impact factor of 8.795, a new Editorial Board has been assembled among highly respected scientists around the world. Luis Liz-Marzán is one of the only five Europeans of the Board.

Our paper on Gemini surfactant-directed self-assembly of monodisperse gold nanorods into standing superlattices, has been chosen as a Hot Paper ("for their importance in a rapidly evolving field of high current interest") by the editors of the highly reputed journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

Our paper on Highly Catalytic Single-Crystal Dendritic Pt Nanostructures Supported on Carbon Nanotubes, has been featured in the front cover of issue 17 (september 8, 2009) of Chemistry of Materials.

"Our paper on Label-free SERS detection of relevant bioanalytes on silver coated carbon nanotubes: The case of cocaine", soon to be published in Nanoscale, has been featured at Chemical Technology.

The Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry (RSEQ) has announced that the winner of the Bruker Physical Chemistry Award is Luis Liz-Marzán, group leader of the Colloid Chemistry Group. This award recognizes scientific contributions in the area of Physical Chemistry during the past 5 years.

Our paper Highly Catalytic Single-Crystal Dendritic Pt Nanostructures Supported on Carbon Nanotubes has been featured at the web portal of the new journal Chemistry of Materials.

Our paper Bifunctional Nanocomposites with Long-Term Stability as SERS Optical Accumulators for Ultrasensitive Analysis has been featured at Journal of Physical Chemistry C.

Our paper on Field gradient imaging of nanoparticle systems: analysis of geometry and surface coating effects, published in Nanotechnology, has been featured at nanotechweb.org.

Our paper on the design of a magnetic + optical, bifunctional colloidal system that combines flexible handling and efficient SERS analytical capabilities, has been featured in the front cover of issue 9 (march 5, 2008) of The Journal of Physical Chemistry C.

Our paper N,N-Dimethylformamide as a Reaction Medium for Metal Nanoparticle Synthesis has been featured at Wiley-VCH's Materials Views. This feature article reviews the progress in metal nanoparticles synthesis using DMF as solvent and reducing agent, and has been identified as one of the most downloaded articles from Adv. Funct. Mater. during January 2009.

Our paper on High yield synthesis and optical response of gold nanostars, published in Nanotechnology, has been identified as one of the three most downloaded papers of all published in the journal during 2008.

Our paper on the use of zeolite L crystals filled with fluorescent dyes as the core of a silica “box-in-a-box” construction as in Russian matryoshka dolls, has been featured in the front cover of issue 7 (february 2008) of Angewandte Chemie. This work was carried out in collaboration with the Center for Nanotechnology (CeNTech), at Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster.

Our paper SERS study of the controllable release of nitric oxide from aromatic nitrosothiols on bimetallic, bifunctional nanoparticles supported on carbon nanotubes has been featured at the web portal of the new ACS journal ACS Advanced Materials and Interfaces, among all of the papers that have been accepted for publication in its first issue.

Our paper Synthesis and optical properties of gold nanodecahedra with size control has been featured at ISI Science Watch as a Fast Moving Front in the field of Chemistry.

The 2008 Annual Report of the Colloid Chemistry Group research activity is now available to download. The report summarizes a year full of activities and high quality research on which all group members have enthousiastically contributed. We are facing 2009 with the same entousiasm and we are expecting to continue in the same line. Happy 2009!

Miguel Spuch-Calvar defended his Ph.D. thesis on December 15, 2008 under supervision of Prof. Luis M. Liz-Marzán. The thesis was related to the use of anisotropic iron oxide colloids as templates for the deposition of nanostructured metals and fabrication of multifuncional colloids.

Prof. Luis Liz-Marzán has been appointed as Senior Editor for Langmuir, the American Chemical Society journal of Surfaces and Colloids. Prof. Liz-Marzán will start handling manuscripts by January 1, 2009.

Nicolás Pazos-Pérez defended his Ph.D. thesis on November 24, 2008 under co-supervision of Prof. Luis M. Liz-Marzán and Prof. Michael Giersig. Nicolás worked mostly at the Center for Advanced European Studies and Research (caesar) in Bonn (Germany) and will continue with an academic career shortly.

Jessica Rodríguez-Fernández defended her Ph.D. on September 26, 2008 under co-supervision of Professor Luis M. Liz-Marzán and Dr. Jorge Pérez-Juste. Jessica is moving to the Photonics and Optoelectronics Group at Ludwig-Maximilliam University Munich, to undertake a postdoctoral position with Prof. Jochen Feldmann.

First Galician Congress of Investigation on Nanomedicine
November 5-6, 2008 (Vigo)

More information is available at http://webs.uvigo.es/nanogalicia

Marek Grzelczak defended his Ph.D. on May 16, 2008 under the supervision of Professor Luis M. Liz-Marzán. Marek is moving to Professor Maurizio Prato's Lab to undertake a 2 year postdoctoral position in Trieste (Italy).

"Miguel Correa-Duarte, research associate of the Colloid Chemistry Group, has been awarded the highest prize in Galicia for junior researchers in Science and Technology. This award is open only once every four years and is a recognition for outstanding young researchers in the region."

Read more (in Galician)

Langmuir's Hot Papers: September 2007

Langmuir's Hot Papers: May 2007